The Heroic God Slayer
Chapter 19
This might make up for the temporary low quality chapter that for the previous chapter. I hadn't realized how rough it was until I read the whole thing for myself. But now I have a better idea on what to do. So on with the show.
(No POV)
"Oh, come on! Where is it? I know there is one piece missing….. at least now I know that. I should have known that he'd make it more difficult for me to become whole." Kagutsuchi grumbled to herself while searching for the last piece of her body.
As she dove through the molten stone beneath Japan, the god of the flames and smiths could feel the phantom pains of her body being cut to pieces. And though she was technically an infant at the time she still plead with her father that she didn't mean to kill her mother.
(Flashback)
"Father please!" the newly born yet somewhat grown Kagutsuchi pleaded. But her raised arm was cut from her. As she cried from the pain, she looked up and saw the face of her father.
Rage was of course etched across his face….. While there were also tears of grief, anger, and something else as he lashed at the flames grew around the young Kagutsuchi. "But you did this! These flames!" Izanagi roars while bringing down his blade twice more.
"Izanami…. My love….. And what has happened to our home and what has leaked to what she and I built! This was due to you!" Izanagi calmed for a moment before raging once more. Slicing down upon the young god, severing more of her body.
Before she could be cut more, Kagutsuchi turned back to her father and roared with full strength. Unleashing a torrent of her flames from her mouth. Her eyes bright in panic. But that panic turned to rage as her father blamed her more and more.
With her remaining arm, she formed a blade from her fires and tried to counter her father. Even shouting back at him. "Isn't this as much your own fault!? Am I not born from you as well!? Did you not aid in the creation of the flames that claimed mother?!"
Izanagi seemed to not hear the words Kagutsuchi was shouting. He seemed solely focused on cutting the god of fire and ending the flames that were consuming his home and wife. Finally disarming Kagutsuchi and slicing of her remaining limbs and then her head.
As Kagutsuchi's head was separated from her body, she could make out the look her father had. One that seemed to be planning in some way to stem her flames. And thus he sealed the body of Kagutsuchi into multiple ceramic vessels and cast them down to Nipon.
She could vaguely hear something from within the clay pot her father trapped her in. "Hopefully this will contain the flames and stop her and her mad power from rampaging." And with that, Kagutsuchi was tossed to the depths of islands of Japan.
(Flashback end)
"They did hold for a time…. But now I'm finally free of those prisons you trapped me in. And. Hello! There you are. I'll finally be complete. And I'll make sure everything you built will burn in the flames you help to create father!" Kagutsuchi said as she found the last vessel.
When she broke it and became one with the final piece, she could feel her power swelling and the flames being stoked. With a mad smile across her face, she forced her flames upward and bursting from the volcano above her.
As she rose out of the lava and fires, she formed new weapons and armor around herself. Suspecting that the god slayer she fought would try to stop her. "This is one fire that won't be doused easily boy. But if you think you can best me, I'll meet you with my best!"
As Izuku flew out over Hokkaido, he thought back to what he said to Reiko. And how cold he was to her. 'May have gone a bit too far. But I needed to do it to keep her safe. I'm not going to let her get hurt again. And I'm not going to let her fall into the same danger that befell Mina.'
The green haired teen had a suspicion that Reiko might be interested in him. Which was all but confirmed by Xeimei without him even asking. He even knew about the lessons in magic she'd been teaching to each of the girls in his possible harem.
'All except for Uraraka. She spent more time with Etcitty-san when he was here. Maybe she wants to learn about his type of magic?' Izuku questioned before starting into a mental mumble spree.
But before he could get too deep in his mental ramblings, the burner phone went off. His mages (still felt weird to phrase it like that) had picked up the shifting of magics beneath Japan. And directed Izuku to Mt Taisetsu.
As Izuku was arriving, a massive pillar of flame burst from the top of the mountain. Though like before it was only really visible to those with magic. Most civilians could just feel the rumble of the earthquakes. Wondering if the volcano was going more active.
"I wish there was a way to talk this out, but I don't think she'll be swayed. Even if I could appeal to her and what she help to build with this nation." Izuku thinks aloud while flying towards the pillar of flame.
Upon landing, Izuku could see that his foe had changed a bit more than before. She was now taller and more filled out. Aside from the naginata on her back and katana at her waist, the god of smithing and fires held a zanbato in her hands. But the blazing red eyes and hair were the same.
"So….. you survived God Slayer." Kagutsuchi said with a glance at Izuku. "Takes a lot more than that to kill me." Izuku says with a slight glare. He could feel the earth trembling more and now some lava was building up and starting to spill out the side of the mountain.
This of course made the heroes of the region act and they had already begun evacuations and fire stopping measures. Kagutsuchi snorts before saying, "if there's one thing those dumb animals are good for it's being ready for when we wish to rampage."
Izuku smiled before saying she could thank Jonathan for that. "He figured that would be a good use for them. And this means…. I can fight you without having to worry about civilians." Kagutsuchi looks Izuku over; noting the glaive in his hands and the power she felt from it.
"You know my past then? You know why it is that I want to destroy what my father built?" the goddess says while glaring first at the skies and then to her pillar of flame. "I do. And I know why you hate him. He condemned you, your power, and even your birth. All things you had no control over."
After saying this, Izuku notes he knows how that feels. Having been born quirkless in this age of heroes with quirks to save the day. "Even if I know the truth about the start of quirks, part of me I think still wishes I had a quirk. Then I wouldn't have had to suffer alone for so long."
Kagutsuchi can see the sadness and the loneliness that had once plagued Izuku. It spoke to her own as she was trapped in the prisons her father built to contain her power. "I guess we're much the same in that regard. I didn't even get to know my siblings before I was cut to pieces." Kagutsuchi says while looking down to the ground and then back to the pillar.
The fiery goddess then asks why he stands in her way. Claiming her rage is justified. "He cut me apart and cast me into the depths of this nation. And then when he went to get my mother he ran and trapped her in Yomi out of fear. If I follow through with this, those who hurt you would receive the same."
Izuku nods and says, "I do sympathize with you. But there are too many others who will be caught up in your rage. People who are innocent or who may be more sympathetic or don't care about quirks or anything like that. So, I have to stop you!" Izuku spins his glaive with both hands and takes a stance.
Kagutsuchi nods acknowledging Izuku's convictions. "You're dedicated to your role as the king of the region you rule. But that is not too different from my father. Which just infuriates me more!" Her flames grow larger and brighter she lashes out at Izuku with her zanbato.
The two weapons clash as Izuku is knocked back from the impact. He spins his glaive before engaging the god again. He strikes multiple times with both blades, but Kagutsuchi uses the size of her own sword to block the blows.
She strikes back again but Izuku can easily evade thanks to the size of the weapon. Nimbly slipping to the side of each attack. And while he can't get a good strike with his glaive, he manages to disarm the goddess of her zanbato.
After Kagutsuchi knocks away Izuku's glaive, she goes in for a smashing strike with her weapon. But Izuku steps back and grips his katana tight. And after taking a breath to steady himself, performs a perfect Iai slash to intercept.
Slicing the god's hands off and dropping the zanbato off the cliff. Kagutsuchi screams before using her flames to rejuvenate her hands. But something is different. Izuku notices that she seems a bit smaller.
That is when Izuku remembers part of the myths with Momotaro. 'He was able to cut down the oni that should have been stronger than him. I just assumed Momotaro granted me an authority that would let me close a strength or power gap. But what if... I'm actually cutting their power every time I land a slash!?'
While not able to sever divinity completely like his glaive or the golden sword, it could weaken their power over time. He just needed to make sure that he landed the attacks. "A death by a thousand cuts. Rather than a one-shot end. It'll take longer, but I've got a way to fight back." Izuku thinks aloud.
Unfortunately, Kagutsuchi picked up on this as well. Given she had shrunken from a full-grown woman to her late teens. So, she didn't intend to give Izuku the chance to weaken her further.
Forming another sword to pair with her other katana she declared as much to Izuku. "I only just regained my body from the ceramic bindings my father put on me! I won't let you take it from me!"
Just before the battle between the god and god slayer had begun, Reiko and Takanashi had arrived at Mt Taisetsu. "You're absolutely sure you want to do this?" Takanashi asked while staring up at the pillar of flame.
Reiko glared at it too and steeled her resolve. "I'm not sitting on the sidelines this time. This time….. I'll be the one to fight with him and protect him." Reiko said with a fire of her own burning in her blue eyes.
"Well then. Let me give you a little boost." Takanashi says before performing a few hand signs. Magic surrounds Reiko and she can feel her strength has increased. She thanks the mage before using the magic to leap up the side of the mountain.
Back on the mountain top the goddess of volcanoes rushes Izuku. Who barely has time to defend himself. Even with his harpoon, he can't get an opening to strike. And can barely defend against the attacks sent his way. After rolling away from a fiery roar, he goes for a stab at Kagustuchi.
But the god deflects both weapons before kicking Izuku in the stomach. And then slicing him with both of her swords. Thanks to his Nemean Hide, Izuku gets away with a shallow cut. But the flames that burst forth hurt more.
Izuku rolls out of the flames before Kagutsuchi is on him again. Her flames and fury still burning bright and proud. She pins Izuku with a few spears piercing his legs and shoulder. With Izuku screaming out in pain and anger.
"Time to finish this. You fought well Midoriya. But my flames will not be quelled that easily!" She flourishes her blades slightly before expanding the fire around them for a final strike. But just as she is bringing her swords down on Izuku, a few stones strike her arms and face.
Reiko appears and charges at the goddess of fire while wielding Izuku's glaive. It does strike home but does minimal damage. "You again? That weapon cannot help you! Even if you may possess an affinity for some magic, you cannot wield a weapon of the divine without training!"
The ghost girl acknowledges this as she can feel her hands burning. Both from the flames of Kagutsuchi and the glaive itself. Wincing as pushed through the pain to buy Izuku some breathing room.
"Maybe so! But I'm not going to stay away and stand aside while someone I care about is hurt or hurting again! This time; I'll save him!" Reiko shouts before trying to attack Kagutsuchi again.
But she doesn't land a hit and is burned again and knocked away. Izuku while still pinned struggles to break the weapons holding him. 'Yanagi! I have to save her!' he thinks while his hands are burning from the weapons he is trying to pull out of his limbs.
After another failed attempt, Reiko is on the ground exhausted. Her hands still burned and sore from the flame and glaive. As she struggles to lift herself, Kagutsuchi brings her blade right under Reiko's neck. Leading the ghost girl to look up at the god.
"You fought well….. and for someone you care about. If only I had someone like that, perhaps I would have been spared my own loneliness. In the new order, I will be sure to name a few children after you and the god slayer." Kagutsuchi says with a touch of compassion in her eyes.
This shifts back to her rage as she brings both of her blade up to try and finish Reiko. While Izuku can do little more than watch. Before the blades fall, Reiko smiles and thinks of Izuku before the blades fall. 'I wish I could have gotten to know you better. Izuku.'
Right as Reiko is thinking this and Izuku is demanding to break free to save her, the god slayer can feel something unlock in his inner world. In that single instance, Izuku feels as though his body became the wind. And that wind rushed to Reiko just as Kagutsuchi was bringing her blades down.
Izuku quickly grabs Reiko and using the same wind knocks the goddess back, while blasting himself and Reiko off the rim of the volcano. And giving them the chance to recuperate.
"What just happened?" Reiko says aloud as she shakes off the impact of Izuku crashing through a few trees. Izuku shakes his head as well before sitting up. "I'm guessing you were thinking of me?"
Reiko blushes a bit before agreeing that she was. "It was mostly about wanting to know you better. And I may have called you Izuku rather than Midoriya." Izuku nods before noting it was an authority from Horus.
"I guess I need someone to think of me intimately or similar to make it work. Though that might make it a bit unreliable." Izuku thinks while popping his back. He picks up his glaive before asking Reiko to stay behind again.
But this just gets the ghost girl mad. And she grabs Izuku's shirt before slapping him. And with tears in her eyes she says, "will you stop taking this on your own! You trusted Ashido and Xeimei to help you! Why can't you trust me as well!?"
She starts to ramble off reasons why he doesn't. The fact she is in a different class, because she didn't stand out much, because he didn't know her as well, or if it was because she had a quirk and couldn't fight as directly.
"This isn't just because I'm also a hero student Mid- no Izuku. I don't want…. To lose anyone else because I just stood aside and left it to someone else. You don't have to take everything on yourself. You're not alone."
As Reiko is saying this, her eyes fill up with tears. And she embraces Izuku slightly. The young god slayer looks down while thinking about what she said. And how he was acting just like All Might once again.
'Like Mina mentioned. Everyone's hero is All Might because he basically takes everything on himself and saves people that way. But that comes at a cost. Constantly keeping people at arm's length and saving the world by himself. And I've been no different. Especially now.'
Izuku hugged Reiko back and thanked her. "Not just for trying to slap some sense into me. But also for saving me more than once today." Reiko cries a bit more before asking if he was ready to let her in. And with a nod, Izuku asks if she is ready for the new fight to come.
Reiko nods before making a small request of Izuku. "Could you….. be the one to initiate?" And the blushes get brighter as Izuku agrees with a gulp. Before gently bringing Reiko into his embrace.
He looks down into her blue eyes and can see how nervous she is. But him holding her seems to put her at slight ease. As he held her to his chest, he vowed in his mind that he would keep her safe and aid her endeavors.
This finished the unlock for him. As he looked down into Reiko's eyes, he brought her in for a kiss. And he passed the power of the last of Momotaro's animals to her. With the rush of power feeling hot inside her body as she held Izuku tight.
Reiko on the other hand had gained a pair of wings from her own back. Glowing green and flowing from her exposed back. As well as a set of tailfeathers from her mostly exposed backside. And in her hands was a bow from which she could create magical arrows.
Her clothing had changed to a tight top that was split in the middle of her modest cleavage. While she wore a fundoshi esque piece around her waist that just barely covered her modesty. And zori sandals that barely covered her feet.
"You ready for this?" Izuku asked after taking back his glaive. And blushing a bit at the very exposed state Reiko was in. The silver haired girl herself was embarrassed. But she pushed past and said to Izuku, "I am Izuku…. My lord."
Kagutsuchi shook her head after being knocked back by the wind from Izuku's authority. "What was that? Where did….. you know what? Never mind. I have something more important to do."
The goddess of flame turned back to her pillar to finish what she had started. Only to be interrupted once again. This time by a barrage of arrow raining down upon her. The first few stick into her arm, while others land around her.
Before she can attack where she suspected the arrows were fired from, another shot comes at her from a different position. This time it isn't a rain of arrows but a single arrow that knocks off a piece of her armor.
Then out of the smokey clouds, Reiko dives down and engages Kagutsuchi face to face. She uses her bow to swipe at the burning god before using her wings to take to the sky once more. Kicking the goddess in the chin before getting some renewed distance to fire her arrows again.
Kagutsuchi forms a set of spears and launches them at Reiko. But her wings give her the maneuverability and evasion to keep her focus in the air. That is when Izuku then charges forward and strikes with both katana and kopesh instead of the full glaive to try and weaken Kagutsuchi.
The god herself forming a tate shield to protect from the strikes and Reiko's arrows. She and Izuku trade slashes with each other multiple times.
But Izuku manages to land more damaging hits. And the fiery god's strength starts to fade from the kopesh and katana. While Izuku can take advantage of his better defenses, a bit of adrenaline, and the air support from Reiko.
"NO! I WON'T LET THIS STOP ME! I CAN'T! I CAN'T LET MY CHANCE BE WASTED!" Kagutsuchi shouts as she was now down to the size of a young teen to pre-teen in age. Tears in her eyes as she continued to lash out at Izuku.
So, she gets desperate and pulls the fires she had been generating from Mt Taisetsu. "This won't fully restore me, but it will give me my chance!" Kagutsuchi shouts as she grows again with a grunt and attacks Izuku with new fury.
It is enough to knock both of Izuku's weapons away again and leave him open. He draws his harpoon to at least give him a weapon to use, but it isn't capable of severing or weakening Kagutsuchi's fury.
Reiko meanwhile tries to engage with arrow and bow to help Izuku and keep the goddess off balance. But she isn't prepared when Kagutsuchi lets off a shout the unleashes a blast akin to an eruption and knocks her out of the sky.
Izuku was also knocked down from the blast and his harpoon knocked away. That is when Kagutsuchi takes her naginata off her back and stabs the boy. "This is over! I've won!" the god shouts with a furious smile .
But it drops when she notices something, Izuku is smiling. All of the sudden a new pain pierces her back and through her body. Reiko had the other half of Izuku's glaive, and fused it with her arrow to fire through and sever Kagutsuchi's divinity.
And doing so brought it right into the hands of Izuku. Who used it to sever the spear in his side and slash Kagutsuchi again. The resulting clash let out an explosion that knocked the two hero students off the mountain once more. But Reiko caught Izuku and brought him back to the top.
Once there, they could see the form Kagutsuchi was stuck with. No longer an adult or teen, the burning goddess now appeared to be barely thirteen in appearance. Her once fiery red hair was now black and semi shimmery like obsidian. And her formerly burning red eyes were black as well.
She was naked and couldn't muster up her flames to fight or protect herself. She was crying slightly as she struggled to lift herself from the crater. "Get it over with….. just finish me." Kagutsuchi whimpered out while her tears fell and formed into obsidian gems.
While Izuku is tempted due to what he knows his duty to be, he can't find it in himself to do just that. "No. Like I said you were right that your anger was justified. I stepped in because you would have threatened millions. But you can't do that anymore."
Izuku finishes by saying, "If you've got anger with this nation, with your father… then come fight me again. I'll take you down once more. And who knows? Maybe I'll fight your father myself and get revenge for you and others he scorned."
Kagutsuchi looks up at Izuku in shock. Not believing him at first about letting her go. Certain he'd slay her like any other God slayer would. But now he was letting her go. Because he sympathized with her?
But she sees it in his eyes. She sniffles again before asking if Reiko agreed with the decision. "I burned you after all. Don't you want me dead as well?" The pheasant fused girl looks down before saying she did and didn't.
"I got some payback during this fight. And I stopped you from hurting others. But just like Izuku, I know that you have a right to your anger. I couldn't let that hurt anyone else. That is why I wanted to stop you." The sympathetic look Reiko gives Kagutsuchi is enough to convince her for now.
With one last sniffle she thanks them both before asking what Reiko's name was again. After giving it, Kagutsuchi had this to say. "Midoriya Izuku and Yanagi Reiko. Or perhaps it will be Midoriya Reiko eventually. I will carve those names into my heart and face you both again one day. But one last thing."
As Kagutsuchi fades back into the volcano, she uses a bit of her flames to form something. A pair of weapons, a black bladed tessen or war fan about an arm's length and a katana. When Izuku investigates the black blade, he can tell it is of an older design.
With that Kagutsuchi disappears back into the volcano and the rumbling and quakes stop for the time being. Reiko falls back before saying she was exhausted. "I know what you mean Reiko. You'd think I'd be used to this."
Izuku is about to call Takanashi again, but Reiko stops him by picking him up and flying him off the mountain. Aside from noting how it was a bit awkward with her carrying him, he asks where she wants to go now. And if she wants to follow up on a relationship with him. Like Mina and Xeimei.
"Maybe. But I still have to get to know you better. I thought you were impressive when you saved me and Uraraka during the entrance exam. But after learning what you fight and how you don't want to let that control you or make you into a dangerous tyrant. I'm more in awe. As well as wanting to prove I can stand with you as a hero. And maybe a mage." Reiko says with a small smile directed down at Izuku.
He returns it and says he'd be glad to see where this could go. "And not just because I basically have two, or three with you, girlfriends. I want to fight with you as a hero. Just like I'd originally dreamed about."
The conversation is brought to a bit of a close as they land back at the Miyafuji clinic. Once there, Takanashi looks over the weapons. Noting that the katana is a Kogarasu-maru style blade. With the double edge only being the top quarter of the mune from the kissaki.
Izuku holds the blade while being patched up and focuses a bit of power into it. This makes the flame like patterns along the blade lite up and create a fire from the sword. "Okay this will take some getting used to." Izuku says after putting out the flame.
Reiko finds much the same abilities with the tessen. The black metal has a red glowing hue to it interior a when Reiko concentrates, she finds she can make fireballs manifest from the weapon. And while she can't control the flame with her quirk, she finds she can make the flames almost dance with the movements of the fan.
"Wow… I might want to learn some Kagura dances to go with this." Reiko says as her eyes light up at movements of the flames. Izuku chuckles and says they can ask Nezu when they return to UA. "Whenever that will be."
He takes the moment to call Jonathan and make sure nothing else was going to happen. "Nah you're good. Delphi only showed me that one piece. But I'm both surprised and yet not, that you let her live. Well, I'm in no position to judge. Good job."
With that done and the day winding down, Izuku lets out a sigh before saying they might as well enjoy the fact they are in Hokaido. The mages take this to heart and through the CCTH they get Izuku and Reiko a room at a Noribetsu hot spring hotel.
While the manager at the check in counter gives them a funny look, the booking had been approved so he shrugged and passed them a key to one of the nicest rooms. With its own rotemburo.
At first the two teens plan to bath separately, but Reiko shyly says she didn't mind. "At least if it's you." The two blush as they change and then wash off. With Izuku first offering to wash Reiko's back. And she returns the favor when he was done.
When they relax in the spring, they keep a respectable distance at first. Until Izuku broaches the question of why Reiko actually came to him earlier in the day. "You haven't really talked to me or the others much. I know most of us were getting ready for the Sports Festival but we haven't really talked much."
Reiko looks down before acknowledging Izuku was correct. "Part of it is that…. I am actually pretty quiet and shy. But I wanted to… I was… You know what? I'll just go for it." Reiko says while trying to explain what she felt.
And instead, just going over to Izuku and kissing him. While wearing nothing. This makes both blushes return in force, but Izuku shakes out of it enough to hear what Reiko has to say next.
"Like I said, I was a bit enamored with you when you saved me and Uraraka. But after what happened with your fight with Master Jonathan and with Xeimei. I was going to give up. Until you had that whole thing with Ashido and Xeimei had brought up that Campione could have multiple partners. And I wanted to get closer, but we were in rival classes, and I could never think on what to say… and then-"
Reiko started out slow but as she seemed to be panicking more, her words started spilling out like water. Izuku has an idea on where this could be going and just brings Reiko into him with a hug.
"It's not on you Reiko. I didn't worry about it or try to talk to you after everything that had happened since classes started. Let alone accepting that multiple girls actually find me attractive now." Izuku says while the two teens stay embraced.
He also says that he still wants to see if this could go somewhere. "And given we have the afternoon to ourselves (since we can't get back for the sports festival) why don't we enjoy what the town has to offer?"
Reiko smiles up at Izuku and says she'd like that. While also saying she'd like to just relax in his arms for a bit longer. Izuku nods and agrees with her.
This was something I wanted to do and give Izuku a Athena like opponent. And after a suggestion from another reviewer, I could see a lot of ways to make this work. Though Reiko was a last-minute change to get the last of the animals done and not make it all about class 1-A. It'll be a bit before I get the next chapter up, but I hope you guys like this one. Please review!