A few miles away from Riksent, the Hagane and Hiryu Kai along with their respective Personal Trooper squadrons were engaging the Einsts above the ocean. The lesser Einsts were being eliminated quickly by the Personal Troopers. However, the Einst Hydraloid proved to be a challenge. It extended and lashed out it's eight heads towards any enemies it saw. On top of that, any injuries the Hydraloid received healed rapidly.
"****, what is this thing?!" Katina said as she and the rest of the Octo Squad looked at the Hydraloid. "No matter how many times we fire at it, it just keeps regenerating!" Just as Katina finished speaking, Shu had dispatched the last of the lesser Einsts with a swing of the Neo Granzon's Granworm Sword.
"That is clearly not an ordinary Einst we're dealing with," Shu commented as the Neo Granzon lowered it's sword. "That Einst was most probably created by Beowulf using the powers of the Sol Emeralds. It would be troubling if we do not deal with it quickly,"
"We must not let it advance any further," Elzam spoke. "Riksent is not far away from us. If we do not neutralize this Einst, it will reach the kingdom and attack it!"
(scene change)
Back at the Mobians' side, the battle with Beowulf was fierce. The Einst was launching a barrage of flames, thunder and tornadoes towards the group. Everyone dispersed towards different directions, evading Beowulf's attacks. At one point, Geoffrey turned into smoke and whizzed towards Beowulf and swung his rod towards the latter. Beowulf blocked the attack with one arm.
Enveloping his free hand with fire, Beowulf swung it towards Geoffrey, only for the latter to quickly fly away and land next to Elias. Elias switched his sword to crossbow mode and fired at Beowulf. To Elias's surprise, Beowulf summoned a wall of ice to shield himself. The wall was shattered into smithereens by Elias's attack, leaving Beowulf unscathed. Tails and Rotor fired their blasters at Beowulf. The duo's attacks were just swept away by Beowulf using one arm.
"Our attacks aren't working!" Tails remarked as everyone circled around Beowulf.
"He has become far stronger than when we first encountered him," Lightning spoke. "To think that the Sol Emeralds would make him this strong!"
"We can only defeat him if we fight as one!" Sally said to the group.
"I'll take the lead then!" Sonic began to run around Beowulf at blinding speed. As if following his cue, Honey used her agility to dash around Beowulf, creating multiple afterimages of herself. Storm and Lightning joined the duo by dashing around Beowulf in repeated bursts of lightning. The rest of the group prepared to make their moves.
"Quite a bold move, surrounding me," Beowulf commented as Sonic, Honey and the Raiju ninjas began to charge at him. "But, your efforts are futile," All of a sudden, Beowulf unleashed an electrical discharge out of himself, sending the four Mobians flying.
"What?!" Knuckles said in surprise.
"Honey!" Geoffrey cried out as Sonic, Honey and the Raiju ninjas hit the ground.
"It's useless to oppose me," Beowulf boasted as Sonic, Honey and the Raiju ninjas got back up on their feet. "With my powers and the Sol Emeralds', all of you stand no chance against me,"
"I wonder about that!" Axel lunged towards Beowulf and swung his weapon. Beowulf blocked the attack and the two began pushing against each other. "Like Knuckles said, you're just being full of yourself!"
"Indeed?" replied Beowulf. "Inferior beings such as you have no right to say such things to me!" Beowulf pushed Axel away and landed a swift punch on Axel's gut, causing the latter to open his mouth.
"Power is everything!" Beowulf repeatedly beat Axel with his fists. "And I shall carve these words into those who oppose me by trampling them until they are obliterated from the face of the Earth!" As Beowulf finished speaking, Beowulf punched Axel with a flaming fist. The impact of his fist caused a small explosion which injured Axel and sent him rolling onto the ground.
"Axel!" a few of the Mobians cried out.
"Are you alright?" Alfimi quickly went to Axel as he struggled to get up.
"Mister Axel, please don't force yourself!" Cream went towards Axel and helped him to sit up on the ground. Cheese was holding onto Cream's shoulder. Cream turned to Beowulf and gave him a serious look.
"You are so mean! Mister Axel was once your friend! How could you turn against him and hurt him so badly?!"
"Like I said, that is no longer my concern. Then again, the concept of friendship is foolish. Friendship is merely a word used by the weak in order to cling onto each other in times of despair. The only thing that matters is power alone,"
"You're wrong!" Cream angrily retorted at Beowulf. "Friends are important to people! They help you in times of trouble and comfort you in times of need! Why would you say that friendship is bad?!"
"Cream…" Axel looked at the little Mobian with slight surprise.
"I have no intention of answering such a foolish question," Beowulf replied crudely. "Only fools will adopt the belief that friendship is an important thing,"
"Then, we'll just have to prove otherwise to you right now! Let's go, Cheese!" Cheese flew towards Beowulf with Cream following him.
"Cream, wait!" Blaze called out. "It's dangerous to fight him alone!"
"We've got to help Cream!" Sally ran towards Beowulf.
"Ah'm with yer, Sal!" Bunnie flew next to Sally. Blaze followed Sally and Bunnie from behind. While the three Mobians moved, Axel slowly got back up onto his feet. At the same time, Cream and Cheese reached Beowulf and were about to land a blow on him.
"As I have said…" Beowulf spoke. "…it's useless to oppose me!" With one arm, Beowulf swept Cream and Cheese aside, sending them flying. The force of Beowulf's attack was such that not only were the two seriously injured, they were knocked unconscious. Everyone began to widen their eyes in shock.
"Cream!" Blaze shouted as she witnessed Cream and Cheese falling to the ground. Bunnie quickly grabbed them and brought them down to the ground safely. Everyone then gathered around the two to check on their condition.
"Cream, are you alright?!" Sally tried to wake Cream up. "Please say something!"
"How horrible," Axel spoke, his voice a mixture of shock and anger. Looking at Beowulf, he added, "Beowulf, I knew you were a monster from the start. But, to hurt a child just like that… You have definitely become the worst!"
"I was merely showing the consequences of opposing me," Beowulf said without remorse. "That child was foolish to charge at me alone," Blaze began to glare at the Einst.
"Foolish?" She walked towards the front of the group. "It's true that she did something dangerous. However, she did so to prove her conviction," Blaze's eyes then widened in anger. "Don't you dare look down on her as if she was inferior!"
"Such foolish words," Beowulf gloated. "As if a frail child can prove the thing called 'convictions',"
"You bastard…" Lightning's right hand crackled with electricity. "To speak like that even after committing such a heinous act…" Stepping forward, Lightning continued, his voice seething with anger, "You shall be put to death!"
"Calm down," Storm's words caused Lightning's anger to be replaced with surprise. The electricity on his hand disappeared at that moment. "But, Storm…" Lightning said as everyone looked at her.
"That is enough," Storm spoke in a calm yet serious tone as she walked forward. Stopping next to Blaze, her head was slightly bowed down and her eyes were obscured by her hat. For a short moment, everything was quiet.
"You said that power is everything, correct?" Storm spoke to Beowulf.
"Indeed I had," said Beowulf. "What of it?"
"Beowulf… I must agree that your ideology is correct," Storm's reply surprised the group.
"Well, isn't this interesting," Beowulf said with a sinister undertone in his voice. "To think that one of you will be like-minded with me,"
"That's not true!" Sally exclaimed. "Storm is not like you! I had seen her show kindness with my own eyes! She is not to be associated with the likes of you-" Storm raised her hand causing Sally to stop speaking. Despite the latter's surprise, she did not say anything further.
"Once, I followed a similar ideology as yours," Storm continued talking to Beowulf. "That power was everything and nothing else was of importance. Without power, you cannot fulfill your greatest desires, let alone becoming strong,"
"For a long time, I had fought under that belief. Those who did not share it with me were exiled from my clan by my hand. Such was the way of my clan in the past,"
"However, I discovered a flaw in my ideology. At one point, I became absorbed into my own strength. As a result, I committed an atrocious act which nearly cost me the honor of my clan as well as the person most dear to me," Some members of the group were surprised by Storm's words. Lightning had a look of concern on his face.
"What are you getting at?" asked Beowulf.
"There is no wrong in obtaining and exercising power," Storm said. "However, the moment you are consumed by it, you will lose yourself and commit wrongs that are potentially irreversible. That is what you are currently doing,"
"But, not only have you allowed yourself to be driven by power, you even went to the extent of hurting a pure-hearted child without remorse. And for that, you…" Storm raised her head and gave Beowulf a death glare. "…shall be judged,"
"If you say that you will carve your ideology into anyone who opposes you, then, I shall say this-For the sake of my clan, my comrades and the people of this world, we will break your twisted beliefs and put an end to your madness!"
"That is very well said," A voice rang across the clearing, surprising everyone including Beowulf.
"Who said that?" Rotor asked. Suddenly, the Sol Emeralds in Blaze's possession began to glow a white light and flew out of her coat. The emeralds floated in the air, forming a circle in front of the group.
"What?" Beowulf looked intently at the emeralds.
"What's going on?" Honey asked.
"I can sense your will to fight your current adversary," A voice spoke from the emeralds to the group. "Though your will is impressive, that alone is not enough to defeat your enemy,"
"Wait a second," Bunnie spoke. "Just who are you?"
"That's right," the voice replied. "I should make myself present to every one of you," The emeralds began to shine a bright light. The group shielded their eyes from it while Beowulf looked at the light itself. When the light faded, the group looked at the emeralds and witnessed something unexpected.
Standing in front of the Sol Emeralds was a being which looked very similar to Beowulf except that it was grey in color and had a pair of angelic wings. It's back was facing the emeralds and it looked at Beowulf.
"You…" Beowulf's voice was slowly filled with surprise. "Impossible! It can't be!"
"We meet again," the Beowulf lookalike said to the original Beowulf. "My other half,"