Second Round with the Lich:
Upon the battlefield, Maximus prepared himself as the spell he wanted to employ was ready.
"This may not be a good idea, but at least it will keep damage to the area to a minimum." He said to himself.
"No go and destroy this little worm!" Leech ordered the Dragon.
The Dragon leaned forward and gushed out a purplish fog from its mouth. Maximus bolted away from it and turned around to see everything swallowed up. He circled the beast while firing another barrage of arrows upon it. Each arrow exploded with the same force a small artillery shell could produce. He soon noticed it was not having much effect on the creature.
"It seems I will need to increase my potency; however, I cannot keep this going for too long. Looks like it is the perfect time to switch up from Magic to using Spiritual Energy. I do not have much experience using it as I only used magic to get the ball rolling in that area. I guess now is good a time as any to quickly dive into it without using magic." He said to himself.
Before he could go forward with his plan his eyes beheld a terrible sight behind him after the Dragon was finished breathing its unholy breath. The forest that laid around them had been devoured by its attack. The ground was scared in a manner which no living thing was visible. The grass and trees had all disintegrated and only left a desolate mark of dirt which looked infected.
"Did that Dragon spat out poison within its breath?" Maximus wondered to himself. He studied it further and concluded it was what he thought it was. "I need to make sure I am not touched by its breath attack or I could end up dying again." He said to himself. "Analysis." He said as a spell activated and his mind was filled with the knowledge about the poison. "This will come in handy should I happened to be caught in its wake." He finished.
Maximus moved once more and at the moment he was close enough to his foes, he focused on the spell he wanted to employ at the beginning of the new bout. He snapped his fingers and a white ball formed before him and quickly expanded out. The glass barrier extended forth throughout the entire area. The moment after a light shined forth which took everything within range to another plain. On the outside a towering glass structure remained.
Everyone at the guild wondered what he employed and saw he was still in the same position. Leech had wondered if it were going to be another highly potent spell that could end him and the Undead Dragon he summoned. He looked around and noticed nothing had changed.
"What was he employing just now and did it even work at all?" Leech wondered with curiosity.
"Now we can really let loose so long as I don't bite the bullet. Got to love the Mirror Reality spell to ensure safety for all. I should see about using it in another way sometime in the future." Maximus said to himself.
He instantly conjured up a fire serpent and send it forth to latch onto the Dragon's left front leg. The titanic beast began to screech in pain feeling the burns upon its body. The fire serpent began to expand its length to wrap around the entire creature.
"That was a wildly good guess to use fire on that beast. Now to deal with him." He said and bolted for Leech.
The next moment he was slapped away before he could get close enough to attack his foe. The Dragon had slammed its tail upon Maximus and almost instantly smashed against the ground after flying over a hundred yards. He slid upon the ground, smashing into every tree in his wake another hundred yards until he finally came to a halt.
"That was unexpected," He said sitting up and soon coughed out blood. "To think that creature could move at such speeds is extremely incredible. This is going to be harder than I thought." He said standing on his feet and soon felt dizzy from the blood rush to his head.
He nearly fell down when he caught himself by taking a step to the side to balance himself. His whole body was in pain and he looked back towards the direction he was last at.
"With the Dragon at his side, attacking him is going to prove difficult to say the least. There is no telling what that beast is capable of. Not to mention, I would go as far as to say it was possibly summoned or temporarily brought back to life." He stopped to gather his thoughts about what to do. "This is quite the situation I am in. There is no way I can attack from above the tree line, they both would see me coming a mile away. Staying in cover might help, however, with that Dragon's breath it would simply destroy all cover completely until there is nothing left to use to conceal my attacks." He said to himself.
Meanwhile Leech used his magic to cancel the fires and the Dragon's body was free after being tied down.
"Looks as though we are needing to add some resistance to fire at this time." He said and the orb began to glow.
"Figured he would do that," Maximus said feeling annoyed after using a magical familiar to eye out his enemies. "So much for turning that oversized lizard into a crisp buffet. However, if the initial attack is strong enough, I could use magic to conjure up artillery shells. Wait, no, I do not have enough mana for that. I may have enough for a handful of spells; I should keep that for healing instead of anything else. Well here goes then." He finished.
The next moment he began to remember how it would feel with using magic to summon his Spiritual Energy. Afterward he looked inwardly thinking the same way magic is created he began to think on some of the few lessons he was taught before.
"Summon it from your soul and not your core." He said to himself.
The next moment he felt a tingling sensation within his body as if a reservoir of untapped potential were being released. The feeling spread through his body liken to how magic would almost feel, instead his power was a lot more intense yet calm. He felt his body become more alive than ever before as his senses were heightened beyond what he was used to when employing magic.
"Now that I got that taken care off, it is time to see how I fare against these two. I wonder if I should transform now. No, I need to save that for a last resort, besides, I can replenish my mana and energy once I employ that." He said to himself. "Might as well throw caution into the wind and go straight into the teeth of this situation." He whispered.
The next moment he instantly appeared before the Undead Dragon and launched his right fist under its jaw. The loud cracking sound of the sonic boom created from it echoed vibrantly across the immediate area. The ground itself quaked at the might of the sheer force of the shockwave. The beast's head flew upward from the strike and it began to stumble. It took several steps back and soon collapsed to the ground. Within its eyes, the creature had a dazed and confused look as if feeling a strange sensation, it had not felt for a long time. It shook its head and began to stand up and immediately fell to the ground once more.
Before Leech could react, Maximus had spun around to his right to kick Leech with his left leg. The moment before his strike could land a blow, another barrier appeared to stop his attack.
"Figures, even with the Dragon at his side, he would still keep it up as a precaution should the battle go ill for him." Maximus said to himself.
He held out his hand and Leech began to ready himself for what could come next. Before Maximus could employ his next move, the Dragon lunged for him. Leech moved away and Maximus was swallowed whole by the beast.
"Is that it?" Leech wondered.
Meanwhile back at the guild, everyone began to feel depressed seeing another hero meet their end. Several people looked away clenching their fists wishing they could avenge him somehow.
"No, Maximus!" Aqua shouted as she fell to the ground on her knees as she began to cry.
Luna approached and embraced her as they both thought Maximus had met his end. She could see Aqua had deep feelings for him and she too could not hold back a single tear for him.
Everyone was silent, even the ones who were at first joyfully taking bets kept still and did not dare make a sound.
"Wait, look at that Dragon." Mohawk said.
Everyone cast their gaze back up at the image and saw the Dragon was struggling. Its mouth was soon opened, slowly, and Maximus appeared into view.
"He's still alive!" Aqua said with relief and cheer as a new sense of hope began to swell within her. "I shouldn't have written him off like that, he would never go down that easy." She said to herself.
Meanwhile back at the battlefield, Maximus struggled against the strength the Dragon's mouth was providing. Pushing with all of his might, he roared a loud as he stood up a little more in order to create a large enough opening to escape and the next instant he disappeared out of its mouth.
He hovered in the air from a safe distance with his gaze at the Dragon. He was feeling extremely exhausted as his breathing was fast and short. He tried to gather himself by taking in deeper breathes.
"You're going to have to work for your meal here you oversized salamander!" Maximus declared to the beast.
The Undead Dragon leaned forward and roared once more. Maximus had a grin form on his face and began to attack the beast again. He circled to its right staying away from Leech and fired a barrage of energy blasts upon the creature. Each hit had the same force equivalent to a large artillery shell. Maximus soon noticed it was working as the scales were falling off along with pieces of its flesh. The Dragon roared in pain and in that moment, he charged for the head. He focused as much of his Spiritual Energy he could spare into his left hand.
The moment his hand touched the scales of the beast, he roared loud and long as the energy flowed out of his hand. A large ray of silvery white light shot forth, expanding a circumference of twenty yards. The blast quickly disintegrated a large portion of the head, leaving half of it left untouched.
Leech was in awe at what had transpired before him and disbelief soon followed. "That's not possible," He whispered out as sweat began to form on the side of his head.
Maximus landed, planting both feet onto the ground just at the Undead Dragon's body collapsed. The rumbling vibrations were caused by the titanic beast's weight. A gust of dirt blew forth and soon settled harmlessly to the ground. Maximus waited for several moments to ensure the beast had died and was not coming back. He turned around to look at Leech with an intense gaze.
"You were saying." Maximus said to him.
"Even if you have proven yourself capable of slaying a beast such as this, it means absolutely nothing. For you see, this is nothing more than a summoned beast, it is not the real deal. Meaning if an actual Dragon were before us, we would not even be able to stand a chance against such a creature. The genuine articles, the real Dragons of this world, are at least ten times more powerful than this one you fought against and there are some who are well beyond comprehension, almost God like." Leech informed him.
"Well, at least I know where I stand on the 'Proverbial Power Chain', for lack of a better term at the moment. I am not one who goes seeking out the strongest unless I have no other choice and even then, I would try to prepare for that inevitable circumstance." Maximus said as he hovered into the air. "As I said before, I am contempt with where I am and who I am with. I will not be the one to save this world."
"Oh, so you maintain your earlier stance about this world's problems?" Leech inquired.
"I did not come to this world to save it, not at first. Meaning I was not in the right frame of mind. However, there is someone I want to protect who is living in this world alongside me. My true intent is to ensure her survival and will employ any and all methods to see it through. Now then, are you ready to meet your end?" Maximus said raising his left arm, palm opened and the same light as before shined before him.
Leech feared for a few moments which turned to a slight grin. Maximus took notice of his facial expressions and the next moment he quickly disappeared from Leech's sight. After he disappeared the Undead Dragon rose up and snapped its snout where Maximus was. Its head was still regenerating to a certain degree. It cast its gaze round about in order to search for its prey.
"I should not have made such an obvious expression else he would have been finished for sure. Now I know how strong he is, I will have to increase this beast's defenses." Leech said holding his orb forward and a light shined upon the beast. "I better ensure I do not give it too much else I will lose control over this creature." He said to himself.
Meanwhile, everyone back at the guild saw he had escaped the danger they saw arising. Aqua felt extremely relieved to see he had evaded the beast but wondered where he went.
"Please, be careful Maximus, for Dragons of this world are incredible creatures that not even the Demon King cannot hold a candle to." She said to herself as she kept praying for his safety.
Meanwhile, Maximus was sitting within a tree which had the beast and Leech in view. He studied his foes, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The moment the Undead Dragon had turned its back to him, he saw the perfect opening. He judged the distance between them, which was nearly three-hundred yards away. He focused his energy and bolted at supersonic speeds towards Leech. His arm was positioned forward to strike a blow and when he was close another scaly hand reached up to block the attack.
The force of the impact was absorbed by the hard scales. Maximus was surprised at the speed the gigantic hand of another Dragon had appeared. He saw the hand began to close and instantly backed away. The moment he was a safe distance the right hand of the Undead Dragon slammed upon him and crushed him against the ground.
"Yes, I got him this time!" Leech said with excitement.
Meanwhile everyone within the Guild Hall once again began to fear for Maximus.
"No, I will not doubt him at all, he will get out of this, I know he will." Aqua declared but could not help but worry even more as she kept her eyes on the image.
Meanwhile back at the battlefield, The Undead Dragon removed it hand and Leech saw to his amazement, Maximus still alive. Looking down he noticed Maximus was breathing deep breathes and noted he was still standing.
"That was too close, if I did not use nearly all of my power at that moment, I would have been flattened for sure." Maximus said to himself.
He flinched in pain as his body was feeling the sharp stings his body was signaling. His head had a stream of blood flow down the left side of his face. He could feel his bones on the verge of breaking and soon felt that some were already shattered.
"This is insane," He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "To deal with Leech and one Undead Dragon is one thing, but to have another on top of all that," He paused once more. "This isn't going to end well at all, I find it both annoying and exciting that I will have to resort to this drastic move. Well, it was bound to happen one way or another." He finished his thoughts.
The next moment he focused his mind and began to employ his transformation. The next moment the Golden Circle appeared before and moved over him to transform into his Angelic Form.
Leech hovered there smiling as he was happy to finally push him into this state. "As you have said masters, whatever it takes. I also remembered you wished for me to test him. I hoped my efforts have met your standards." He whispered.
Maximus was feeling renewed of all energy and mana as his supplies were replenished. His aura flowing out of him and the entire area felt as though a heavy force was pressing down on everything. Leech began to quake at the awesome might which was before him.
"Analysis." Maximus whispered.
The next moment the spell instantly analyzed the two titanic beasts, giving him the information needed to enact a plan he was forming.
Before Leech could say a word, Maximus instantly bolted in between the two Undead Dragons launching a barrage of punches and kicks at key areas. The joints on both creatures were indented, bones breaking with every strike. Maximus formed energy blades from his knuckles and with each swing, a larger energy blade shot forth, cleaving deep through the scales and the skin. The blades struck the ligaments around the joints and soon the creatures fell to the ground.
Maximus snapped his fingers and a spark ignited into a titanic fire serpent. He motioned his hands to have the two Undead Dragons be swallowed by the attack. Leech used his mana within the orb to put out the fires and turned to where Maximus was.
The moment Leech turned he saw Maximus was gone from sight once more. Before he could say a word, the orb was gone from his grasp as his body finally registered his hand had been cut off. Soon after he noticed the odd color shining upon the ground. He turned grunting in pain and beheld Maximus high above him with a massive crimson energy ball with a smaller purple ball within it, above him.
"This is the end for all of you and maybe, if your masters are watching, they will see what will ensue should they seek after me in the future." Maximus said.
The next moment he motioned his arms down and the ball launched at supersonic speeds towards Leech and the Undead Dragons.
"I hope I have done well for you masters." Leech said feeling a little saddened that he may not have lived up to their expectations.
The ball engulfed his body, disintegrating it almost instantly. When the ball struck the ground, a bright light illuminated forth intensely. The shockwave forced the ground to open up as it quaked to and fro. The fireball engulfed everything in it wake as the entire forest was leveled out of existence. It continued to expand for nearly two miles wide and the titanic mushroom cloud rose to the clouds above and the shockwave pushed them away. Several rings surrounded the cloud as it continued to rise.
From the vision of the familiar the Guild staff member was employing; everyone shielded their eyes from the light. After a few moments, the image disappeared and everyone was beginning to wonder what happened. Some doubted he survived as the others thought otherwise.
Aqua felt the need to return to the castle's location and the others asked her before she could open the door.
"Aqua, where are you going?" Luna asked.
"I am going to go get him." She said.
"But what about,"
"He is alive and he won the battle!" Aqua snapped at Darkness before she could go on.
"Wait, how do you know that?" Kazuma inquired.
"I just know." Aqua replied opening the doors and began to run to the forest near the castle.
Maximus felt exhausted for employing that tactic and glided down to the ground within the massive crater under him. He laid there for a few moments before his transformation into his human form. His breathing was rapid as he remembered the last time he had gone so far in a fight. His body was in a deep state of fatigue he eventually passed out from the bite of exhaustion.
The four of them arrived at the area and began to look for Maximus. After searching for nearly an hour, Aqua found him upon the ground. She quickly ran towards him with a little sense of fear mounting as she first thought the worst until she saw him breathing when she got closer. They brought him back to town and waited for him to awaken.
Meanwhile within a castle far away from the battlefield, the Demon King and a few of his Generals had watched the battle unfold.
"Well, that was an impressive display this foe has put on for us." Sylvia said feeling impressed.
"Yes indeed, to think there are beings such as he in this world. Yet I feel as though he is not from here, because I have not heard of this one in recent years up until now. Someone such as he would have caught our attention long ago. Which means someone brought him here, someone of divine origin is capable of such a ploy." Wolbach said.
"How odd, I thought the Forces of Heaven were to maintain a noninterference clause with the Mortal Realm. I guess someone decided to break that once again, then again, there has not been another New Hero since the emergence of this one. Could whoever had been responsible for this faced discipline in some way?" A man's voice echoed and he stepped out of the shadows of the large room.
"It is possible to assume that, by the way Hans, are preparations nearing completion?" Sylvia inquired.
"Sadly no, we have run into a snag. Turns out some other upstart is making more waves than this foe. His name is Kyouya Mitsurugi and he wields a Curse Sword named Gram. According to the rumors, the sword can kill anything in one strike." Hans replied.
"An impressive weapon, I look forward to the idea of assimilating it as a part of my being. But this presents a problem on two fronts now, we should devise a plan of action against,"
"It matters not," Another man's voice echoed from the other side of the large room.
"Your Majesty." The three of them said in unison as they knelt before him.
"I believe the words of this Maximus are true and if he desires his space, then we should oblige him that reprieve. Besides, a person who wields a weapon that can kill anything in one blow is far more dangerous than one who is indeed powerful yet wishes to be left alone. Those types, the one Maximus can be counted as, are such people who will arise when challenged. In the future, we should tread carefully as to not interfere with him. As for this Kyouya, we should seek him out and destroy him." The Demon King instructed.
"As you command." They said in unison.
Three days had passed since the fight with Leech and Maximus finally awoken from his exhausted state. Before he opened his eyes, his body felt the comfy sensations of a bed against his back. Before he sat up, he also felt the warmth of someone pressed against his chest. He opened his eyes to look around and saw a ceiling in front of him before turning his head down and saw Aqua resting upon him. He grinned a little seeing a familiar face which had an exhausted look accompanied with a small amount of stress.
He moved his right hand up to place it upon her head when she awoke from her tired slumber. She had sensed his movement and slowly sat up with her eyes barely opening. The moment she saw his eyes were open, she instantly latched onto him.
"Maximus, you're finally awake, by the Gods I so happy to see you are alright!" She shouted with overwhelming relief as tears of joy began to form in her eyes.
She planted her face into his chest. Her tears flowed down upon his clothing as she cried seeing him finally waking up. Maximus' grin grew to a smile as he embraced her within his arms. He pressed his cheek against the top of her head.
"By the way, how long was I out for?" He inquired.
"Three whole days." She barely blurted out.
"I was that exhausted from the fight, guess it goes to show you how strong two summoned Dragons and a Lich can be, even if it wasn't the genuine article." He paused his thoughts for a moment to look down at Aqua. "If that be the case, I can only scarcely imagine how powerful a real Dragon will be. I will need to make it a point to avoid them at all cost, at least until I am strong enough to hold my own against one should the need arise." He said to himself. "By the way, where are we?" He inquired.
Aqua quickly sat up unsure how to respond and began to wonder if he had lost his memories once more.
"What do you mean by that?" She said sniffing her nose and began to prepare for the worst.
"I think it is only logical to ask where one's self is after a long period of being out. Not to mention I almost thought we would have been back at the stables laying upon the uncomfortable haystack like we always did rather than a bed." He replied.
She sniffed her nose again and wipe the tears from her eyes. "We are at the Inn within one of their rooms they were finally available to give us." She replied and paused for a moment. "Wait, did you say, 'like we always did' as in you remember,"
"Everything since I first met you, yes." He said before she could finish.
"Wait, when did you get all of your memories back?" She inquired.
"During the battle when you were unconscious and not breathing, I guess something ticked and next thing I knew, I was remembering everything. Which by the way," He paused to sit up to look her in the eyes for a moment before closing them and pressed his forehead against hers. "Oh, Goddess Aqua, please forgive this humble servant for making you worry too much and bless this wonderful day we have started. Amen." He finished his prayer.
"You do remember everything." She said feeling happy to hear him pray to her once more.
She began to feel overjoyed and before letting her feelings run wild, she quickly regained her composure.
"Fear not kind sir, the Goddess is all forgiving and will absolve you of your sins. Now, go thy way and enjoy this day with her. Also, the Goddess wishes to ask for your forgiveness for interfering with your life as it was not her place to do so. Will you give this to her?" She replied with humility and grace.
The two opened their eyes and stared back at each other for a few moments.
"I believe I have dragged it on long enough since the last time you asked, with that said I do forgive you, Aqua." He replied.
He leaned forward a little closing his eyes and she matched him as well. The moment they were about to kiss, Kazuma opened the door and saw Maximus was awake.
"Hey everyone, Maximus is awake!" He shouted behind him to the others down the hall.
The two stopped in place and Aqua felt infuriated with the interruption. "Kazuma!" Aqua shouted in anger.
"Huh, what's wrong Aqua?" He inquired feeling confused.
"God Blow!" Aqua shouted as she instantly slammed her fist against Kazuma's jaw before he could react.
Kazuma fell to the floor feeling the intense pain from the impact. His head had a spinning notion which was spiraling out of control as his vision was filled with stars.
"Don't you know how to knock first before barging in on someone. Especially if said someone is having a meaningful connection with another person! By the Gods, I will flatten your head like a pancake!" She shouted with furious intent and readied another attack.
Maximus took her in his arm as she began to kick and scream at Kazuma. Both of her fist was infused with her Godly Aura swinging her arms back and forth.
"Aqua," He said with grace in her ear and she turned around to look up at him. "Don't let this get to you." He finished and kissed her forehead for a few seconds and she stopped moving around. "Besides, we can come back to this another time. For now, I am starving." He said.
Aqua smiled. "Then let's head down to get something to eat." She said in a cheerful manner and the two made their way to get something to eat while dragging Kazuma there as well.
