Just as in Tokyo a few days earlier, the roar seemed to come from god himself as it rolled out across Sakurashin, rattling the windows and forcing anyone close to cover their ears. All noise around the city, be it people crying out to others to wonder about their safety or the army ordering their soldiers into position seemed to fall silent for a moment as the new arrival made his presence known to the world. I am here! I have returned!

Outside the hospital, Dagarkra took in Godzilla's huge bulky form for a moment, amazed that something at that size was here and had arrived undetected. He himself could barely move anywhere without the humans spotting him and starting a screaming fest. How had this one managed to get into the city and appear undetected?!

Unless … Realisation set in. The human! The one he had thrown over there just moments ago while fighting these pesky creatures. It was him!

Godzilla glared at Dagarkra and began advancing towards him, his hands clenching into fists and teeth bared in an aggressive manner. The look of anger on his face was enough to tell anyone: You will pay for what you have done. Tonight, you will fall!

The demonic creature immediately responded in turn, tossing Kotoha away without a second thought and began marching towards Godzilla, swiping the top half of a building clean off as he went. As the two goliaths neared each other, Dagarkra let out a small roar in an attempt to intimidate his opponent. Godzilla, who was much bigger both in height and width, was undeterred and continued on, his large feet flattening entire streets and scraping the fronts and sides off of buildings.

Suddenly, Dagarkra suddenly charged towards Godzilla, screaming in fury like a madman. His eyes were wide and wild like that of a creature driven by hunger, fatigue and madness. His feet flattened everything on the streets that happened to be in his path and caused the ground to shake. A partially destroyed, damaged by rubble that had been flung across the city by Dagarkra's rampage, collapsed as he ran past but he paid it no heed. Godzilla continued, every step of his making the earth quake.

As they were about a hundred metres from each other, Dagarkra leapt into the air, covered one fist with his other hand and brought it down with all his might on Godzilla. His larger opponent saw the attack coming though but, because he was unable to move out of the way in time, turned his back towards the demonic monster as he made contact. Dagarkra screamed as Godzilla's dorsal fins sliced into his hand, cutting deep into the flesh and he had to pull his hand off. Blood ran from the wounds and fell onto Godzilla's body and the ground below, though it was barely noticeable given the colour of Dagarkra's skin.

Godzilla turned to face him again and he saw just how mad Dagarkra was. He teeth were bared and gritted together so hard that anyone who looked at him was sure they would break under his own strength. Heavy breaths passed through them and he moved his fists back to his sides, ignoring the searing pain that shot up his arm. What really stood out were his eyes; they were like molten lava, the fire from the earth's centre. No, it was like the fire of hell itself was alive in his eyes. He wanted to hurt Godzilla, badly. He wanted to kill him.

Like a bull seeing red, he charged forward with a roar and swung his injured hand at Godzilla in a punch. This time, he hit home and smashed into the larger monster's cheek with a deafening cracking sound that sent him down onto a nearby building. Dagarkra followed up this attack with a stomp to the head. Godzilla roared in pain and tried to get up but the demonic creature grabbed him by the back of his neck and, with strength that belied his more athletic size, threw the creature into the next building, obliterating it completely in a waterfall of rubble and dust, and followed up the attack by pummelling him with his fists. He had him down! Now it was time to take him out whilst he was weak!

Godzilla, however, was not going to be taken down easily. As Dagarkra grabbed him by the back of the neck again, he turned over so quickly and threw his enemy headfirst into the ground, obliterating the buildings in his way and cracking the ground underneath as if it had been hit with a sledgehammer. Godzilla quickly took the initiative and, after picking himself up, grabbed Dagarkra and, though struggling as the monster that was barely half his mass was heavier than he looked, tossed him onto a wide and rectangular office building, flattening it completely. He then advanced and swiped at Dagarkra with his hand, striking him in the head and causing him to fall to the ground yet again. Another swipe struck between the horns and made the blood red monster roar in pain. Godzilla internally smiled to himself. He's tough but I am beating him. He will soon be defeated.

That was to be short-lived as Dagarkra launched himself up and uppercut Godzilla, knocking him back a few paces. More blood flowed from his injured hand but the ignored it and, grabbing Godzilla by the sides of his head, turned his hips left and threw him to the ground. The earth leapt as the enormous bulk of the monster fell to the ground, flattening a street for a few hundred feet. The dorsal fins sheared through the glass front of the other buildings, cutting one tall apartment building in two. Godzilla roared in pain but no help came to his aid and Dagarkra did not hold back and placed his clawed foot on Godzilla's leg and dug in deeply, making his larger foe cry out again.

As Dagarkra was about to strike the side of Godzilla's torso, a loud whooshing sound filled the air. Something flew overhead. Dagarkra looked up angrily, knowing that this sound meant the return of those pesky human flying machines! Damn them! If he could reach up there, he would grab every one of them out of the sky and crush them between his fingers! A second jet came in, only this time heading straight for them. Before Dagarkra could react, two objects flew out from the jet. One hit him in the shoulder whilst the other struck the stomach. Blood spewed and bits of flesh fell from the former spot, and the blood coloured monster let out a painful roar, staggering off of Godzilla as he clutched the wounded spots with his hands. He watched the jet fly overhead, glaring furiously at it, wishing his eyes would be able to shoot lasers or fire at it and make it explode into a fireball. That would teach them!

A growl from behind made him turn and he was greeted by a punch to the face, followed by a huge grey wall slamming into him. The impact threw him onto another badly damaged building, crushing it completely under his back and his arms swiped two others from existence. Godzilla stomped towards him, a snarl on his face. You are tough, but I will crush you. You cannot stop me!

Nearby, Hime, Ao and Gin watched the fight unfold in silence, though the two former were ecstatic as their friend had returned to his normal form. Now they had a chance to stop Gin and Dagarkra before they caused any more damage. There was hope for them! They could do it! They could win!

Gin, on the other hand, watched with his mouth agape, eyes wide and body devoid of breath as if he was a statue made to stare with an expression of disbelief into the distance forever. But inside he was fuming. No! NO! This was not supposed to happen; Godzilla could not just come back and throw a spanner in his all his work. He could not let all he had been planning on – everything that Enyou had started long ago – be ruined by him! He had to get over there and rectify this; now before it was too late.

But first ...

He rushed over to his younger sibling, the move being so quick that she barely had time to scream before he had an arm wrapped around her neck and the gun pressed up against her temple. Hime turned in response to the move but went still, afraid to even move a muscle as Gin gave her the death glare.

"Don't even try it, bitch!" he snarled at her.

Hime gritted her teeth and responded with a glare of her own but still did not move, her eyes betraying her fear for her younger friend as she struggled against Gin's hold. He noticed this and grinned a little but kept a firm look on his face.

"Now, do as I say, or she gets it!" he hissed, emphasising his threat by pushing the barrel of the gun into her skin, making her moan in pain.

"Stop!" Hime growled, taking a step closer to them, gripping her katana as she desperately wanted to drive it through Gin's chest. She stopped when Gin tightened his arm around Ao's neck and her pleading eyes met Hime's. Please, help me! "Look, let her go, Gin! She's your sister!"

"And your friend!" he barked in reply. "Now do as I say and she'll be fine. You, not so much." He nodded his head over at the jade green crystal and the spears on the ground. "Pick up the crystal."

Hime glanced at Ao once again and then back at Gin, her eyes giving him the message he expected. I hate you, you bastard!

"Do it!" he growled.

Reluctantly, she obeyed. Hime walked over to the crystal and picked it up, wishing it were a rock that she could hurl at Gin and hit him right between the eyes. She even thought about doing it but was stopped when Gin barked at her to bring it over to them.

"Ao, hold out your hand, and keep the other one against your side." He commanded her.

His sister did exactly as she told, holding out her palm to her friend to collect the crystal. To Gin, it was an acknowledgment of his command but to Hime and Ao, dear readers, it was a cry for help. A plea for her to be freed from the deathly grip of her older sibling, begging not to have her life taken from her. Help me! Don't let him take me!

Hime could only look on helplessly as she stopped just a little in front of Ao's outstretched hand and dropped the crystal into it. If only she could grab her friend and pull her away. But it would be hopeless and Gin had all the cards. Any kind of wrong move on her part and Ao would be dead. She looked at Ao, trying to be reassuring and comforting, telling her she would be save her. It was hard though and was certain Ao, and Gin, noticed it too.

"Give it here, Ao," he ordered, opening his hand on the arm that was around her neck.

Ao did so, placing it in his hand and he tightly wrapped his fingers around it. "Thank you. Now say goodbye."

Hime and Ao went wide-eyed. What?! He was going to shoot them anyway?! That bastard. That criminal, scumbag, son-of-a- bi-

A gunshot rang out and Hime fell to the ground, screaming in agony as the bullet embedded itself in her shoulder. She slammed her hand on it, blood seeping from the wound as she tried to apply pressure and stem the tide of pain flowing from the impact point. Ao cried out in panic but Gin tugged at her neck with his arm, a clear sign of 'Help her and you're dead, sis!'.

"Stop your whining, Hime, it's givin' me a headache." He told her as he retracted the gun and pretended to blow smoke away from the barrel akin to how a cowboy would do it from one of the old western films. "And let that also knock some sense into you. You've lost!" he said to her.

Hime looked up at him, squealing in pain as she sat up, her hand clutched around her arm, eyes a mixture of sorrow and fury. Why he was doing this was just completely above her head. How could he do this?! He was killing tens, if not hundreds of people and just unleashed a monster onto the world. Did he have no sympathy?!

"You're a monster, Gin!" Ao seethed at him, struggling hard to break free.

"Just someone whose committed to what he wants." He told her, tightening his arm around her to make her stop. He went to speak further but a distant rumbling sound made the three of them look in the direction a little to the left of Godzilla and Dagarkra. "Well," Gin said, smiling to himself. "Looks like another one has joined the party."

Godzilla snarled at Dagarkra as the demonic creature wiped blood from his lips with the back of his bloodied hand; he also returning with a snarl and baring his teeth. Godzilla had managed to punch Dagarkra in the face when he had him in a headlock, hence the wound. Now Dagarkra was raring to get back at him. It honestly shocked Godzilla a little, knowing that his enemy was bleeding and was badly injured and yet was able to relatively hold his own in a fight and was continuing despite the injuries. It reminded him of an apparent term the humans used called 'adrenaline junkie', something he had heard whilst on his way to the city when he himself had been one. Apparently, they could be very aggressive and, if provoked, could fight constantly beyond the capabilities of a normal human until it all wore off.

Right now, he was facing a similar situation, only Dagarkra was not like this because of some drug or powder or anything like that. This was entirely natural for him; which meant it was going to be one hell of a fight before one of them emerged victorious, and both were determined that it would be them and not the other.

The ground shook and a series of loud rumblings and booms approached from the south. Godzilla and Dagarkra turned their heads in that direction, momentarily perplexed. What is that?

The buildings in front of Godzilla seemed to explode outwards and the next thing he knew, something slammed into him, throwing him to the ground with a BOOM that threw piles of rubble into the air and caused two damaged buildings to crumble. Whatever it was wrapped itself around his chest, tightening itself like an anaconda strangling its prey. Godzilla, dazed by the sudden attack, looked up and saw the familiar head of Manda a few inches – if one were to go by monster measurements – from his own, hissing mockingly. Didn't think you'd see me again, did you?

He bit down on Godzilla's snout, making him roar in pain. Godzilla grabbed Manda around the midsection, the creature's longer body being its disadvantage, and slammed it into the ground. It had the desired effect as Manda screeched in pain and managed to wiggle itself free of Godzilla's grasp, scurrying away down the street to nurse its wound. For a moment, the large creature breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the blood from his snout. For a small runt, he does possess a nasty bite.

Heavy footsteps rushed towards him and a sharp kick hit him in the side of the head, sending him on his side. Dagarkra had seized the initiative and decided to follow up the attack whilst Godzilla was down. Pleased but not satisfied, he grabbed said monster by the top of one of his dorsal fins and punched Godzilla in the face with his other hand, making sure to thrust his head into the concrete. Weakling!

From their vantage point, Kotoha, who had landed been grabbed by Akina and the boy when Dagarkra tossed her aside, watched helplessly with them and Kyosuke and Yae as Godzilla was being pummelled. They had hoped their former human friend would be able to stop Dagarkra, and it had looked that way for a while. But now that Manda had suddenly reappeared, the odds were now heavily stacked against them all. They watched as Manda reared up on his back legs and bent his body like a snake, roaring encouragement at Dagarkra as the blood red monster grabbed Godzilla and threw him over his shoulder into another row of buildings. The ground rocked, it being felt by the group despite being a few hundred feet away but the two aggressor monsters did not hold back; they continued on, ready to beat him.

"We have to help him!" Kotoha said with urgency, looking at the others for approval. "He's getting his ass kicked!"

They all nodded, Akina looking on anxiously as Dagarkra landed a fist on Godzilla's back, this time being careful to avoid the fins. Manda came forward and bit down on Godzilla's neck. They heard him cry out but there was little they could do. These monsters were too big and too powerful, and they only just survived fighting Dagarkra. Now with two against them, it was literally going to be a fight to the death.

And if we don't do something, Godzilla will be the one who dies! Akina mentally told himself.

"How are we gonna do it?" Kyosuke asked, glancing at them as if they had an idea. "Well? Guys, we need to think of a plan?! And fast!" he added, his voice becoming vehement as Godzilla's roar of pain filled the air once again.

"We have to lure one of them away," Akina spoke up, all heads turning to him. "It's gonna be tough but if we can defeat one of them, it'll give Godzilla a fighting chance."

"And which one are you talking about?" the boy said. "In case you haven't noticed, they ain't gonna voluntarily chase us."

"I vote Dagarkra." Kyosuke spoke up.

"No, it has to be Manda." Akina counter argued.

Kyosuke looked at him angrily and went to rebut him but Kotoha intervened. "No, Akina's right, Kyosuke. Dagarkra is too powerful; we won't stand a chance against him, even with Godzilla."

Kyosuke glared at her but said nothing. He had to admit that they were both correct in their opinions. Dagarkra would kill them if they tried to fight him. Manda was the weaker of the two enemy monsters; at least taking him out of the equation would even their chances of victory. Hopefully.

"Okay," he sighed. "Let's go."

Watching from afar, Gin chuckled to himself as he saw Dagarkra and Manda attack and overpower Godzilla. His two monsters were a deadly combination, one that this apparently all-powerful creature was failing to fight back against. He watched Dagarkra land another blow on Godzilla. Manda followed it up by turning his body and swiping his tail across Godzilla's face. Both were relentless and deadly.

"I give him another ten minutes." Gin muttered. Another roar of pain from Godzilla made him ponder for a moment, then he said: "Scratch that, make it six or seven."

Hime and Ao locked eyes once again, both looking lost for words at just how severe the situation had deteriorated for them. Godzilla was literally being beaten to death and they were all the way over here and unable to help him! Oh this was terrible! They had to do something! If Godzilla was killed, then all hope was lost. Nothing could possibly defeat both Manda and Dagarkra.

Hime gave Ao a determined look, telling her that under no circumstances were they to let her brother win. They had to beat him and they had to stop Dagarkra and Manda. Ao saw this even without her ability to read the mayor's thoughts. She also found herself and her friend wondering where the others were. A moment of terror struck them. Had they been killed by Dagarkra?!

"Well now, I best get over there and help them." Gin spoke up, looking at Hime as he pointed the gun at her again. "Unfortunately, you won't be seeing the end of this." He paused as he took in the terrified look on her face, amused at the petrified look that met his confident and overzealous expression. "Goodbye, Hime."

He pulled the trigger. Click! "Huh?!

He pressed down on it again desperately. Click! Click! Click! It was empty.

"No!" Gin shouted in frustration. "Damn it, no!"

Ao saw her chance and struck. She raised her foot and stomped down on Gin's foot as hard as she could. He cried out in pain and loosened his hold of her. Hime saw her chance and, gritting her teeth as hard as possible to conceal the pain, charged forward, driving her katana ahead of her. Ao yelped and bent her body out of the way but Gin, who also saw it coming, jumped to the side and, with a swing of his fist, struck Hime in the back, sending her forward to the floor with a grunt of pain. Ao charged at him, grabbing him and hitting him in the face and shoulder but he pushed her back by the neck to fall next to her friend.

"Screw this!" Gin exclaimed, pocketing the gun and rushing to grab the spears that lay on the ground. "Try and catch me!" he snarled at them and began leaping across the rooftops away before the girls could do anything.

Ao, slight pain stinging her elbows from where they had struck the floor, picked herself up and helped Hime to her feet, both women looking at Gin's gradually shrinking form as he moved back in the direction of the battle between the three monsters.

"Damn it!" Hime hissed, pausing as she let out another grunt of pain. "He got away. We have to stop him!"

"No, Hime, you're hurt. You need to stay somewhere safe." Ao insisted but Hime overruled her in a manner as if Ao had personally insulted her – she had probably even done such a thing by suggesting it in the first place.

"No, Ao! This is my home and I swore to defend it and I'm going to defend it, with my life if necessary. No, don't try and convince me otherwise! Now c'mon, we have to get after him!"

Ao sighed. Why did she have to be so obstinate?! She's in no condition to fight and only just escaped being killed moments ago; she's going to end up getting herself killed if this carries on.

Still, she obeyed helped her friend over to the edge of the rooftop. Hime wrapped her arm around her cat-eared friend and leapt across the gap between the buildings to the next, though each jump made her injuries hurt like hell.

It's now or never she mentally told herself. We have to beat him now.

Blood flowed, bones cracked, flesh fell in small bits from his body, his breath weakening as endless blows fell upon him. He tried to fight back, swinging a punch at Dagarkra but his smaller, yet amazingly strong enemy grabbed his fist and pushed it aside, and uppercut Godzilla, knocking him back a few paces. Manda launched himself on Godzilla, wrapping his long body around his midsection and chest, and bit down on the shoulder. Godzilla roared and tried to grab Manda but was stopped as Dagarkra grabbed him and, using his powerful jaws, bit him on his other arm. Despite his thick skin, blood flowed as Dagarkra's teeth sheared through it like scissors through paper, pushing his opponent back and throwing him into a small park area, flattening it and three unfortunate people who had taken cover there after fleeing from their building a few minutes earlier.

Manda unwrapped itself and sneered at Godzilla, mocking his weakness. This is who he had been afraid of? Godzilla had been the one who had beaten him nearly to death a few days earlier, the one who he had been terrified of running into again in case next time he was killed. And now he could see the reality; which was that Godzilla could not hold his own against two opponents, let alone even one who was smaller and much thinner than him, and, by monster logic, not meant to be as physically strong. It was becoming too easy.

Dagarkra stomped over and placed his foot on Godzilla's head, pushing it down into the ground as if he were trying to squish an insect, glaring down at him with such vehement hatred it was as if god and the devil themselves were in conflict here. Godzilla tried in vain to throw him off but he had not the strength. He looked up, trying to show defiance in his glare at Dagarkra but his enemy just took it as an invitation to push down harder. He wanted to crush Godzilla's skull into dust. He wanted his brain to be splattered across the ground. He wanted his body to burn to a crisp, into nothing but a blackened shell of its

Something red flew down and slammed into Manda's back. The snake-like monster screamed in pain and flailed about as he tried to recover from the pain. Dagarkra yelled in surprise and looked up to see the bright red object land on a building behind Manda. The moment it touched the roof, it disappeared, and five people were revealed to be standing there. Two men, a young boy and two women. It was them; the very ones he had fought against earlier before Godzilla had arrived. They were back for more? Well he was going to give it to them and then come back and finish off Godzilla!

Manda, however, beat him to it. The elongated sea monster whipped round and snarled at the group, his head equal to the rooftop. He advanced slowly, deliberately intending to strike fear into them. It seemed to work as the five backed away, gradually separating from each other as they went.

"Okay, we got his attention!" Kotoha said as Manda approached.

"Great, now we just need to keep him busy," Akina said, glancing up at the towering form of Dagarkra as the demonic monster stepped over, and on, Godzilla's weakened body and was following close behind Manda. "But I think we've got company." He added anxiously.

Dagarkra moved to the left of Manda a bit, taking great strides so that he was out of the park, his feet knocking an apartment building and a small office building next door out of the way as he went. The group noticed this, quickly realising what was going on. They were being encircled. Dagarkra was going to stop them from leaping to safety as they had done earlier so that Manda could rip them to shreds. Akina inwardly cursed himself, berating his mind for coming up with such a risky, and now obviously fatal plan that was going to see them all dead.

When Manda was about fifty feet from the building, however, something unexpected happened.

Dagarkra looked over in the direction of the hospital several hundred feet away and quickly began marching over in that direction. To the amazement of the group, and especially Manda who watched him go literally with wide-eyes and a mouth that fell open as if it was going to come off, he did not even look back at them. It was as if he had completely forgotten about them.

What on earth was happening now?

Gin, who now stood on the still standing, but clearly cracked and damaged roof of the hospital, lowered his arm with his still usable spear, relieved that Dagarkra had sensed it and was now coming over like a dog returning to its master. Though I'm glad he can't see it that way. It had been hard getting here and the wounds across Dagarkra's body showed he had clearly fought hard and suffered for it.

Well, at least he's still alive. Now we can finish this Gin thought with moderate positivity.

Someone landing nearby made him wheel round quickly, weapons at the ready, concentration at its highest level, only to let out an annoyed sigh as he saw it was none other than Ao.

"Still trying to stop me?" he asked her rhetorically. "Where's your mayor?" he asked, adding a disgusted tone on the last word as if he felt he would throw up when mentioning it.

"She out of harm's way," Ao said, holding something at the ready in her hands.

Gin cackled when he saw it. "Oh you think you're a warrior with that katana now, do you?" he mocked, laughing again. "Wow, you sure do make me laugh, sis!"

"Stop it, Gin!" Ao snapped angrily, gripping the weapon tighter. "It's over. We have the army here and we're not going to stop, even if you have two monsters fighting us. You can't win."

The ground shook as something large approached. Ao looked up and gasped, the colour draining from her face as she turned to face Dagarkra, keeping the katana pointed at him as if it would deter him from attacking. But she knew it was hopeless; she was an insect compared to him. He could crush her like one too.

"Oh have I?" Gin asked, grinning evilly at her fear and terror as Dagarkra loomed overhead, glaring down at her and looking as if he wanted to smash her into paste then and there. "It was nice knowing you, sis. Shame you couldn't join me."

Ao went to shout an invective back at him but a growl from above made her back away in fear, almost tripping over some scattered rubble as Dagarkra took a slow, small step towards her, raising his open hand to shoulder level.

Ao knew now just how much of a mistake she had made coming over here to face her brother. She was done for now.