"Tsss," his the Supreme Kai of the Ninth Universe, as he roamed around the plains of Hell, searching for any mortal with power worthy of interest. Surely that Akame and the others weren't the strongest this universe had to offer. "COME ON! Why is there no one who can at least destroy an entire galaxy?! Surely there has to be at least ONE mortal here with that sort of power!" Even though those other fighters couldn't destroy galaxies just yet, after their training, they would be able to, at least Roh hoped so.
Finally, turning to the guard who had taken him here before he said. "We're done here, boys! Every single one of these sinners are weak!"
"Are you sure, sir?" a blue-skinned guard quivered, not wanting to feel the wrath of the Supreme Kai's temper.
"OF COURSE I'M SURE!" Roh roared, while walking in front of a cell. "Bringing together ten mighty warriors more powerful those from other universes? It's impossible!"
"Maybe not," a voice suddenly sneered. Looking inside a cell, Roh could see a man with a big stature, above the Kai himself approaching him, while smiling deviously.
"You don't seem to be very strong. Nevertheless, what do you want?"
"Why don't we begin with introductions first?"
Sitting cross-legged, with her eyes closed, Najenda let the time pass by while meditating, and reflecting on what was going to occur over the next few days. Beside her, Mine, Akame and Kurome were just as quiet. Still, anyone could have screamed in fear. Traveling with Mohito, the four females were traveling through space at the speed of light.
"Never would I have expected to witness something as glamorous as seeing the stars and planets closely..." Kurome had begun to eventually noticed they were traveling through space a few seconds after they had taken off, seeing only a few stars among the dark sky.
"Can someone explain to me how we can breathe?" Mine inquired, very curious of how this was possible.
"I would prefer not to spend several hours explaining all of this to you," Mohito preferred, as he took a gander at a nearby world. "Besides, we'll shortly be arriving at our destination." As they rushed into the small planet, the group of females ended up landing on the ground along with their transport, gently.
They were all now in the Sacred World of the Kai, in all of it's viridescent magnificence.
Opening her eyes, Najenda saw Tatsumi and Wave in front of them, along with Sidra and Roh. But, of course, they weren't alone. The other members of Jaegers and Night Raid were also gathered here with Sidra. All that had traveled with Mohito had put their gaze on one person and one person only.
"Esdeath…" Najenda muttered, simply seeing her presence made her grit her teeth. If it weren't for the fact her services were highly requested, she would have sent her back to Hell where she could continue to rot.
"Najenda, my dear, it has been quite some time. How has my former ally been fairing for these past few years?" Esdeath questioned, with a mocking smile. Meanwhile, Run took a deep breath in and out as he filled his lungs with fresh air, all while stretching a bit. "Even though I'm still dead, it feels good to feel like I'm alive."
"Run…" Opening his eyes, Run could see Kurome standing right in front of him, while still showing a small smile. Her ally was back and well, and not a mere puppet, as he had been, when she had wanted to keep him with her, thanks to the Imperial Arms known as Yatsufusa.
"So how's it been since years ago?" Run questioned her, as he went to place his hand on her head. But out of nowhere a pair of arms suddenly surrounded Kurome, and nearly destroyed her ribs from how tight she was squeezing him.
"KUROME!" Seryu Ubiquitous cried, hugging herself against her. "I'm so glad to see you again!"
"T... the feeling's... mutual..." Kurome gasped out, her breath started to run short because of how tight Seryu was hugging her.
Looking at the three former Jaegers reunited like this, Wave couldn't help but genuinely smile at seeing his old comrades back after all this time. It seemed the wish he had long wanted to achieve had come true, when he had thought a long time ago it had no chance of occurring again. Is this really going to happen? Can we actually reform the authentic Jaegers team, after the victory of this tournament?
"Well, well, I see a lot of familiar faces," a voice chuckled. His body freezing up, Wave slowly turned around to see Esdeath standing behind him, with her halo present on top of her head. Staring at the boy, along with his three former soldiers, she cried out.
"I hope some of you are murmuring about spend your time training. This will be of great benefit to all of us."
"Commander..." Kurome had clearly recognized her. Looking at their former superior, the Jaegers' reaction was more or less different. Wave and Kurome were a little uncomfortable, now that they knew how much Esdeath had fooled them and how cruel he was, Run gave him a polite smile, and Seryu, was a different matter. Looking at the young woman, Esdeath was only surprised at her reaction. As long as she could remember, Seryu, in her lifetime, had surely been the most dedicated soldier she could have found, always clinging with the idea of doing whatever it took to please her. However, Seryu was just stepping back, while literally shaking with fear. It wasn't Esdeath herself that frightened her. No, what she was afraid was that being around the general again would eventually send her back to Hell. She couldn't bear going back to what she had to endure for six long years.
"Well what do you know, the return of Murder-girl," a voice chuckled, obviously not pleased to see Seryu again. "That halo above your head's pretty cute."
Recognizing this voice among a thousand she had heard, Seryu immediately turned to Mine, and displayed a face of pure rage. Seeing Mine alive infuriated her. For her, it was because of this girl, if she had ended up rotting in the depths of Hell. This cunning and sly witch was the one who had killed her, before she had the chance to purify the world and have the right to have her place in Heaven.
"Just so you know, nobody missed you once since you died," Mine assured her friend's murderer, coldly. "I still think you should rot in Hell after what you did to Sheele."
Even more angry, Seryu had forgotten all about Mohito's instructions, and in complete anger, she ran towards Mine, ready to drive her fist into her face.
"STOP!" Sidra ordered her, but to the former soldier, he didn't exist in her eyes now. Luckily for him, another person was responsible for stopping Seryu. Raising his fist in the air, Budo smashed it on Seryu's head, which then forced her to crash to the grassy plains below. Surprised by this gesture, all looked at the former general, while the latter used his thick voice to make himself heard.
"LISTEN! Among every one of you, there are many here whose company I don't appreciate, and I know for a fact this is the same for all of you! Originally, we were two groups at war, and today we are forced to fight side by side! I know that for some it is an intolerable agreement, yet we do not have a choice in this matter! Each universe will want to survive, so it is normal to think that only the most powerful fighters of each of them will participate in this tournament! And it will be the same for us! If we lose this tournament, we won't go to Heaven or Hell! No, we will be completely erased from reality, with no chance of being resurrected! We are obliged to act as a team! Whether you want it or not, you will tolerate the presence of those around you during this endeavor! I'm not asking you to be friends with everyone here, and if your mind always tells you to kill them, so be it! But for the quarrels, just wait until this the tournament is over! Once done, everyone is free to follow a new path or to resume their life where they left off."
After Budo had finished his speech, Mohito almost smiled. While Budo might be just an average mortal, he had just demonstrated a talent for taking matters into his own hands. For Mohito, he would have been a much better advisor to Sidra than Roh was. He could see why he was an assistant to King Yemma. Now, everyone could see that they had to work together, as this was an endeavor that was not to be seen as a joke. Esdeath however, took this little speech lightly as she attracted everyone's attention by applauding, mockingly clapping her hands, while mocking Budo's words. "What beautiful words! I'm almost moved by them."
"Why don't you keep your sarcasm to yourself," Tatsumi growled.
Simply raising her hands in the air while throwing a sadistic look in the direction of Najenda and her friends, Esdeath sighed. "Don't worry, I won't attempt to try anything foolish! If I ever try to kill one of my new 'precious' partners, I know I'll be sent back to Hell without question, but I have little qualms about that. For now, I suppose could wait until the end of this competition."
Understanding her attentions completely, Akame quickly pulled her sword out of its scabbard without hesitation, while Mine grabbed her two new revolvers. Seeing the deadly weapons pointing at her, Esdeath simply continued to smile, knowing full well that it wouldn't have any effect on her. She was already dead so the joke was on those poor fools. Seeing a certain tension build up, Run decided to break it by asking the Angel a question. "If I may ask, if I'm not mistaken, you talked about resuscitating us after the tournament! But is this the tournament reward, or is it just a gift from you?"
"Well, to be precise, the tournament rewards are the Super Dragon Balls," Mohito responded. This drew confusion to all who were dead since they weren't informed of the rewards for the tournament.
"And just what are the Super Dragon Balls?"
"The Super Dragon Balls are sacred relics that can be found only in the Sixth Universe and the Seventh! When reunited, these mystical items can summon a dragon capable of making any wish come true! Three wishes will be allowed, as a reward for this occasion, should any of you be the last contestants in the ring," Sidra responded for his Angel attendant.
"Three?" Tatsumi repeated. "But, even excluding Budo, we already have four people to revive! Not to mention that we have other friends."
"You're clearly not thinking outside the box here," Roh groaned, directing his gaze to Mohito during his next sentence. "If you formulate your wish correctly, you will be able to revive an infinite number of mortals! Don't underestimate the power of the dragon! There's even the Angel here who can bring back people, so quit worrying so much over this."
"In good faith, I would be ready to give you a reward! If our universe emerges victorious in the Tournament of Power, I will allow all who are deceased among you to be resurrected, free to live in the mortal realm! You can then do whatever you please with your three wishes," Mohito agreed.
Hearing this, Najenda began to think, not staring at Esdeath. Ultimately, these Dragon Balls might just be the perfect solution to stop Esdeath from resewing chaos.
"Okay, while I got the idea of wishes, there's something I don't understand. Earlier, you told us that our victory was far from assured, despite the presence of Esdeath and Budo! Do you really think ten days will be enough for us to increase our strength substantially to match the other competitors?" the sister of Akame wondered.
"You are not going to train ten days, but for an entire decade."
There was only silence, as everyone tried to understand what the Angel had just said. After a whole ten seconds, everyone gave up trying, so Akame decided to question Mohito herself. "I need you to elaborate on that."
"I can send you to a parallel dimension," Mohito explained to them, while twirling his staff next to him. "There, a year corresponds to a day here! Therefore, if you stay in there, until the start of the tournament… "
"We'll technically be spending ten years of our life there," Esdeath understood, while moving her eyeballs up, gazing at her halo. "If I'm being honest, even if it will be long, it does not bother me more than that! After so many years of twiddling my thumbs, I really need to let off steam, again and again! And then, dead as I am, I doubt that these ten years will have an impact on me."
Simply sighing at the comment, Najenda sighed, wanting to get this over with. "No matter, send us there. The sooner we start training, the better."
"Wait just a minute!" exclaimed Mine. "Stay ten years in another dimension just to train?! Need I remind you that I have a daughter and-"
"Think this through for a bit reasonably," Najenda advised the only mother of Night Raid. "In an entire decade of training, most of us, if not, at least one of us will be able to develop the strength necessary to surpass the strength of Esdeath! If this happens, we have no reason to fear it once the tournament is over. And then, for your daughter, she's only has to go through ten days without seeing you. Sorry to ask you of this sacrifice, Mine, but we need you."
Since it seemed no one here want to stand up to the plate, Mohito sighed, tapping the ground with his staff. Immediately, various familiar weapons that were destroyed over half a decade ago appeared in front of or in the hands of the representatives of the Ninth.
"P-P-Pumpkin?" Mine stammered, as she held her long lost weapon in her hand.
"Our Imperial Arms..." Akame whispered, stunned. It was as if this Angel was a gift from the Gods, as was his power.
Seeing the shadow of a familiar silhouette behind her, Najenda couldn't help but smile. If all of these Imperial Arms were back, surely he was too. "So, you're back to, Susanoo."
Surprised, everyone turned to see an eleventh person. As surprised as they were, the organic Imperial Arms carefully scoured his body as if it was brand new, although he was certain it had been destroyed. Noticing the presence of Night Raid, then the Jaegers, he moved into combat position, ready to attack.
"Enemy detected." Before the organic Imperial Arms charged towards the most dangerous member of the Jaegers, Najenda ran in front of him to stop him from attacking.
"Susanoo, wait! They're not enemies! They're our temporary allies!"
"Allies?" Susanoo wondered. "Do elaborate for me please."
"Many things have happened since your destruction! I'll explain that to you."
"THIS IS PERFECT!" Roh suddenly rejoiced. "That guy's a weapon right? So technically he's allowed to come, meaning we can bring more than ten fighters without breaking the rules! This'll show them the Ninth is going to win this thing!" Noting that their Imperial Arms were back, there were both cheerful and frightened surprised looks. However, one of the deceased soldiers began to look around, noticing that his was nowhere to be found.
"Wait... what about Koro? Where is he?" Seryu whimpered, as she looked around for her beloved Imperial Arms, but didn't seem to find it anywhere. Completely ignoring Seryu, Mohito once again tapped his staff on the ground, causing all of the Universe Nine participants to disappear except Seryu. "Their training will soon commence, Lord Sidra," the Angel informed the Destroyer.
"Very good," Sidra said, while pretending to leave. "I'll let you handle this one, Mohito! The rest of them need to be ready for the Tournament." As Sidra prepared to depart the area, Roh stopped him for a quick second.
"Sidra, there is something the both of us need to discuss."
"If it involves the Tournament, we heard everything, but I'm all ears." Seeing them leave, Mohito sighed with relief, no longer having to hear Roh's unpleasant voice. As much as he was liaison to the Ninth, he was never fond of the Kai and was glad he was leaving his range of sight. Nevertheless, the silence was quickly dissipated when Seryu spoke. "Hey, what about me? Why am I still here? Why isn't Koro here? Did you not succeed in bringing him back? Or are you going to have someone else take my place?"
Sighing again, Mohito turned his back on her and began to walk away, while signaling her to come with him. Surprised by his gesture, Seryu remained motionless for a few seconds, before finally following him. After a few short seconds of walking along the grassy plains of the Sacred World of the Kai, the Angel attendant to Sidra began to question the deceased former soldier to the Empire. "Seryu, what was your goal when you still lived?"
"My goal? Well… it was to bring justice and peace to the Empire and rid it of all evil."
"And why do you say 'was'?"
"Because establishing justice forces me to kill people! And that will lead me back to Hell if I continue it!"
"Seryu, perhaps I should impart a few words of wisdom. If anyone, whether man or God fights all his or her life, and only destroys those with dark souls and impure intentions, they will never be sentenced to be subjected to torture for eternity, it is quite the opposite, in fact. They will be hailed as a hero to their kind and when they pass on, they will be sent above until the end of time. This goes for mortals, however. As for deities, I don't believe every past Destroyer was simply heartless." Sidra was a perfect example and only destroyed what he saw fit. Then again, he tended to overthink things and was usually indecisive, and hardly destroyed anything. He was usually a very passive god, and was calmer, and more benevolent than his counterpart, the Supreme Kai, which was one of the reasons Mohito took a liking towards Sidra. Still, Angels were meant to stay passive so he didn't have any attachments to the Destroyer.
"But that's what I did!" Seryu retorted! "I only did fought those who were evil!"
"But that's what you believed the acts you committed were! You only killed what you saw as enemies of the Empire, nothing more. I can decipher that you haven't the slightest clue of how many innocent mortals you have slain."
"Innocent?" Seryu repeated, refusing to believe she killed innocent people who were trying to do good on the world. When she was alive, in her vision, Night Raid was the symbol of absolute evil who killed the most important people in the Empire. "That's preposterous! I only killed criminals!"
"Seryu... petty thieves are not criminals."
"Yes they are, what else would they be?! If you dare to claim the opposite, it's because you don't know anything about justice."
No sooner had she had time to say these words, when the Angel turned to her, with a hateful look. Pointing the end of his staff at her, it let out a giant ball of energy. Throwing it towards her, Seryu quickly ducked down as she felt the heat of the energy ball pass over her head. Then, a few seconds later, a powerful explosion was felt, destroying a large part of the area where they were.
Turning around, Seryu could only shudder when he saw the chaotic area behind her, realizing that she was two centimeters away from dying again.
"I... I..." Seryu didn't have the strength to stammer anything else, as she had never seen a power such as that, even when she was dead.
Teleporting a few feet in front of her, Mohito still gazed at her with an angry look. Raising his staff, this time he created a multicolored ball. Afraid of being destroyed, Seryu began to run away as fast as her legs allowed her to. Unfortunately for her, gripping his staff and pointing it forward, Mohito was quick to send his ball touching the back of Seryu's head. However, instead of exploding, it disappeared inside the girl's head and ended up connecting to her brain.
Immediately, as if lightning had fallen on her, Seryu began to scream in agony, while rolling to the ground. Seeing her suffer thus, Mohito walked away to meet up with the other deities, knowing this would take a while.
"This process will take a few hours so do try to hold on until then."
Having trouble moving, the rest of the group found themselves in a strange dimension where white stretched out endlessly. Around them, a kind of pressure existed and prevented them from moving as they wished.
"What's going on... are we paralyzed?" Wave wondered, as he tried to get off what seemed to be the ground.
"Oh my GOD, THIS IS SO STUPID! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TRAIN IF WE CAN'T MOVE AT ALL!?" Mine ferociously exclaimed, her evident anger showing as she tried to shake any part of her body, but she could only move in small budges, her body barely even giving off any vibrations.
"This is part of your training regimen," Sidra told them, suddenly appearing with Roh and Mohito. "Here, a year corresponds to a day on Earth! This is where you will train."
"Yeah, we get the idea, but like Mine said, we can't move! How are we supposed to train?" Tatsumi wondered, trying to move his arms.
"That precisely why you are going to train here! To move in this world, you will need to know how to perfectly control your energy so that it is in harmony with this realm! Once that is done, you will then need to become stronger to support the gravity which is much stronger here than on your planet! Once completed, you will have already gained a lot of experience."
Trying to stand up, Tatsumi tried to raise his head towards the God, while asking him a question. "The... the other competitors... can withstand this gravity?" Without answering his question verbally, Mohito slightly hook his staff. Immediately, a hologram of Goku appeared in front of them.
"Here is a mortal from Universe 7 who will be present at the tournament! His name is Goku, and his race is what the deities of the Seventh call a Saiyan."
"A Saiyan?"
"They are a warrior race capable of increasing their energy during difficult battles," Sidra told them. "But this one had surprisingly high strength! I will not lie to you! Even with Seryu, the ten of you won't stand a chance of defeating him."
And to prove it, he stared at Mohito. Just nodding, the Angel hit the ground with his staff. Immediately, as if the pressure had subsided, the warriors were able to stand up and move as they wanted.
"We will give you a chance to defeat this man," Sidra announced, before stepping back with the others. "Go ahead, it will be a nine to one! The fight will end when one of the teams can no longer fight."
Looking at each other then, the fighters felt a little insulted, starting with Esdeath. She hated that someone made her look so weak and pathetic. As a result, she did not lose a moment to attack Goku's hologram, and immediately went for a one-hit KO with a Grauhorn attack. Immediately, a giant horn of ice appeared out of thin air, and began to hurl towards the hologram of the Saiyan, while Esdeath envisioned a thousand and one ways of skewering him completely. Simply displaying a confident smile, the hologram only waved one of his hands. And just by spinning it, he managed to deflect several projectiles, before having fun catching them in his hand and gathering them under his arm.
And once the barrage of ice ceased, Esdeath and the others could only be amazed when they saw the man in front of them unharmed as the attack from Demon's Extract had not infected him in any way. Even wanting to take advantage of it, he threw all the spears he could catch and the projectiles flew with phenomenal speed, which tripled their speed. Seeing this, the small group could only move aside as the projectiles destroyed the entire ground where they had been before.
However, not having finished, Goku rushed towards them and found himself in front of Susanoo, and barely having time to see him, the Imperial Arms immediately placed his huge club in front of him to defend himself. Unfortunately, Goku had no trouble breaking it, with a single punch, and managed to hit Susanoo's chest so hard that he threw him back.
"Susanoo!"
Flying away, Run gained altitude, before dropping a cloud of sharp feathers. Barely raising his gaze, Goku created multiple energy blasts in his hand and swung them towards Run's attack. In a few seconds, he destroyed all the feathers and started aiming at the angel. Trying to dodge his attacks, Run could only zigzag a few seconds before being hit and crashing to the ground.
However, taking advantage of the diversion he brought, Mine had had time to charge Pumpkin as well as Budo. Immediately, a laser beam and a sphere of lightning were launched on the Saiyan. Distinguishing the attacks, Goku just put two fingers on his forehead and disappeared from everyone's range of sight, while avoiding the attacks.
"He disappeared!" Mine exclaimed. Appearing between Budo and Mine, Goku surprised the two warriors. Wanting to turn around, they stopped, while Budo was punched in the stomach and Mine was hit in the chin by the palm of a hand.
Seeing them collapse quite easily, Goku's hologram looked annoyed that his opponents were falling so quickly. However, he had to dodge the blade of a sword, while Akame tried to attack him with Murasame. Feeling a dark aura emanating from the weapon, Goku took the trouble to dodge each of the blows, before finally locking the weapon between his fingers. Immediately Akame was unable to dislodge him, while the Saiyan's strength was greater than her.
Wanting to take advantage, Kurome found himself behind Goku and charged him, sword in front. Not even needing to turn around, Goku eventually lets go of Akame's sword, before screaming while projecting energy. Acting like a shock wave, the gesture threw the two sisters back. Taking their places, Tatsumi and Wave grabbed their Imperial Arms, before being covered in armor. Running towards Goku, Wave charged with his bare hands as Tatsumi grabbed his battle spear. Unfortunately for them, dodged their charges without the slightest problem, Goku let Wave pass him, before hitting him with the edge of his hand, at the back of his neck. Pulverizing the armor, he knocked the boy out in an instant before turning to Tatsumi.
Leaping into the air, to dodge his spear, he then directed his foot towards his face, and threw him back. Feeling her face spray, Tatsumi spat blood from it, while Incursio disappeared.
Seeing all these people fall like this frightened Najenda. This Goku, he seemed to be the equivalent of Esdeath in terms of raw strength. To them, Esdeath was invincible a long time ago. Now they wouldn't have a problem with her, but to all of them, Goku was invincible. Esdeath, Goku and Najenda could see her create a gigantic spear of ice that could have slain any monster in their home world.
"We will see if you can survive the face of this!" cried the young woman, throwing her spear.
Seeing the huge projectile, Goku smirked more while thinking he finally found what looked like a challenge. So, concentrating his energy, he let her go up before changing the color of his horses. Feeling a surge of energy creating violent drafts, Najenda felt herself pull back, while Esdeath looked surprised. Finally, transforming into a Super Saiyan, the copy of Goku placed his hands back, before focusing his energy on them, and without wasting time, he shot his arms forward, along with the energy beam firing from his hands.
"HAAAAAAAA!"
Then it all happened too fast for anyone to understand. Swinging his hands forward, Goku released a powerful energy beam, which pulverized Esdeath's attack in an instant. Then he continued on his way and brushed past Esdeath's body. Perfectly still, Esdeath easily felt the power of the attack as the attack could easily have killed her if it had hit her. Finally, when the attack subsided, the former general fell to her knees, feeling her body shaking from the immense pressure the Kamehameha Wave unleased. "Shit..."
"Do you understand now?" Roh grunted, angry at their team's weakness. "If you can't even get up at all, or damage him, you have no chance of winning!"
"What did he just do though?" Najenda wanted to know, while the hologram of Goku's aura retained its golden tint.
"From what I can understand, these Saiyans can transform in order to increase their overall strength and speed," Sidra explained to them. "This one in particular carries a multitude of levels under his belt, his normal birth form, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2 and 3, Super Saiyan God and Blue. I can't gauge a full estimate of his strength, but I would dare say at his Blue level, he could possibly be my equal."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Wave exclaimed, while trying to get up. "This guy has four other transformations including this one, which each of them making him stronger?! He's practically invincible!"
"Not at all," Mohito retorted with a small smile. "He may be strong, but his base form is child's play compared to this next opponent."
Then, seeming to enjoy ruining the team's hope even more, he conjured up a hologram of Top, as he asserted.
"This man comes from Universe 11 and fought against Goku during an exhibition match. The prelude to the Tournament, if you would call it so, and the brawl ended up resulting in a tie. And at the end of the fight, he said it himself, that he was only the second strongest mortal in his universe. To his knowledge, another warrior named Jiren is even more powerful than him."
Hearing this created immense silence among the fighters. All ten of them couldn't believe that such people could exist, even such strength that could destroy entire galaxies. Their level of combat was not superior to them. No, they were of a level far above them.
"Without any training, or even if you train for ten days, it wouldn't change a thing! Your chances of winning this tournament will be close to nothing, no matter what strategy you choose! Your only chance to win and save your world is to train here for ten years!"
"Which is equivalent to how long we have until the tournament commences," Kurome understood.
"You don't have a choice here," affirmed Roh. "If you lose, every one of-" A huge, psychotic laugh suddenly broke out, cutting the Supreme Kai off. Having not moved for a while, Esdeath had ended up collapsing onto her back earlier after her fight with the copy of Goku, chuckling over and over again like a madwoman. She even began to kick the ground with her legs, like a child.
"What's so funny?" Sidra questioned. "This isn't a game!" Eventually calming down, Esdeath suddenly jumped to her feet and stood up. Then everyone could see the gigantic smile she put on, reaching it's margin on her face as she gave an order to the Destroyer, obviously forgetting her place.
"Make me fight against this hologram again! No, make me fight this foe from the Eleventh! I don't care how strong they are, I'll engage with them over and over again until my body gives in! Put as much gravity as you please! Don't hesitate to let me get massacred! Don't you DARE hesitate to allow me to grow much stronger!"
Then creating a block of ice in her hand, she threw it at Top, who grabbed it with no problem, as if it was a fruit, crushing it with his bare left hand.
"Oh yes!" rejoiced Esdeath. "During these ten years and thinking about this tournament… I think I'm going to have loads of fun here!"
Instantly, Roh began to gulp, not understanding how a mortal could be so eager for a fight. For his part, Sidra felt a sort of uneasiness, as he could see some kind of aura around Esdeath. Seeing this, he couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea to train her and resuscitate her afterwards. Not giving a damn about that, Mohito then hit the ground again with his staff. Immediately, all the warriors felt their wounds disappear as if by magic. However, they didn't even have time to rejoice that they were crushed again by an invisible pressure.
"Good, we leave you to the care of these two," Sidra told them, before leaving with Mohito and Roh. Immediately, Goku's hologram wasted no time as it began to run towards it's opponents.
Eventually opening her eyes, Seryu suddenly stood up, completely straight, her entire body shivering as she felt like she had lived through a real nightmare. Waking up on another planet, Sidra's to be precise, she realized that her nightmare was indeed real.
"No, no," she stammered, with a frightened tone evident in her voice, as she ran towards a nearby lake. Leaning over the water, she could see her crystal clear reflection, and her eyes widened, noticing the halo above her head, that has been there ever since those long six years ago. "I... I don't understand..."
"And just what is difficult to understood, if I may inquire?" Turning around, Seryu saw the tall Guide Angel sitting at a small table, while drinking tea and eating a slice of cake.
"Y... you... what did you do to me?!"
"Now now, why do you look so angry? Perhaps you are angry with me because I incorporated part of your memory of your victims and the people you knew into you? Or, are you simply frustrated at yourself, now that you realize that you are far from being the hero to the Empire you thought you were?"
"Grrrr... SHUT UP!" Seryu growled. "All this is not true! You're just trying to manipulate me."
Then, she was struck by another memory. She moaned in pain as she got on her knees, holding her head, hearing the voice of her former ally, Captain Ogre. Hearing her speak to another person, he finally snickered, while receiving a wad of bills, as he said he would have no problem hiding the crimes the other man had just committed.
Then curling up into a ball, Seryu caught a glimpse of memories of one of the people she had killed long ago. She saw a skinny man in the company of his family, while he lived in the poor districts of the city. Harassed by the soldiers, suffering because of the family, unable to live a content life because of the high taxes… this is what the daily life of this family was like, before the father decided to steal loaves of bread from a bakery, just to feed his family.
The rest, Seryu already knew because she herself had seen the man come out of the store, with the loot from the store, and had immediately ordered Koro to kill him, as she had considered him a vile thief who enjoyed robbery. Hearing his family's crying, the moment she realized he had been dead, Seryu pleaded loudly, almost hurting the Angel's ears..
"STOP IT! PLEASE, I BEG YOU! STOP IIITT!"
Finally, when the memories escaped her mind, the young girl remained on her knees on the ground as she broke down into tears, mentally unstable. "I'M NOT EVIL! I'm not evil! I'm not evil..."
"You are right," approved Mohito, quietly drinking his tea. "You were but a simple puppet for the real villain of the Empire, possibly brainwashed to do their bidding as well if I might add, and when you passed on, this Honest figure immediately made sure to find a suitable replacement for your position. In his eyes, you held absolutely no value, it was very evident that everything else along with him was silently pleading for your demise."
Hearing this, Seryu ceased sobbing, to start looking at him, but the tears were still visible. Brim, but nonetheless visible. "But then... if I came back and everyone saw me..."
"I'm afraid so," approved Mojito, with a small smile. "Because of the old knowledge on your home planet, I do believe there are many who will attempt to hunt you down, day and night, in order to find and kill you! In the end, your life is going to be very similar to what you had to endure previously."
"NO, I DON'T WANT THAT! I don't want to be tortured anymore! I don't want to do anything anymore! The Empire… Night Raid… the Jaegers… I'll be ready to forget all of this! I don't want to do anything that will send me back to Hell! Please..."
Widening his smile, hearing this, Mohito now believed she was ready for his training..
"Very well, in that case, I will train you myself for the next five days."
"Wait, only you?" Seryu wondered.
"You heard me very well! To be honest, Seryu, you were very lucky."
"Just how lucky am I?"
"You see, it is I who made the list of warriors to be resuscitated! And you were the last! Truth be told, there were many more powerful than you! I even hesitated a lot, with another warrior named Leone! To be honest, she had many more qualities than you and deserved to be chosen! If she had taken your place, you would still be in Hell, with no chance of getting out."
"But then ... why choose me?"
"Your commitment to justice was the very reason I sought you. Despite having taken the wrong path, you had no idea of the true intentions of the Empire, and you desired nothing more than to ensure respect for the good around you! In fact, you are one of the few mortals I have come across with such a strong will! Therefore, you are able to have this power."
"What... kind of power?"
"That is what I shall teach you," Mohito assured her, standing up from his chair. "Seryu, we're going to make a deal. Over the next five days, or years because of the circumstances in this dimension, I will teach you countless techniques, without giving you time to rest! Once I see you have completed your training, you will join the others and finish your training with them! And, if during these five days, if I see that you have applied yourself and that you have really made your hatred towards Night Raid disappear, I will allow you to have your Imperial Arms back."
"It that true?" Seryu asked him. "Could I get Koro back?"
"I promise! Not to mention the fact that you changing your behavior can help you a lot, if you manage to come back to life."