Fera had pounced. Her claws ready. And yet, I could do nothing except brace myself. Preparing for the inevitable. Yet, that inevitable never came. Fera, went past me. Her figure bypassing my own in a blur to everyone’s shock. She continued forward, her claws cut into Arms, ripping a chunk out of his side. Everything stuttered.
Everyone paused. A moment. An instant while everyone tried to understand what the hell had just happened. Fera clearly had a Majin mark, and yet, she assisted me? Even I, was completely caught off guard. I could even hear her soldiers moving in, striking at the Freedom Coalition’s forces. Saving the now rabid civilians.
The hell was going on, why was she doing this? Fera didn’t answer, only giving me a wide smile, filled with sharp teeth. It was all I needed to make a judgement. She wasn’t here to hurt me. To gang up on me. And, though she didn’t speak. It was as if that single ferocious smile held an entire conversation.
She had planned to betray me. To strike me at my weakest. To rip into me and join the others, only… At the final moment. At the very last second. Unclouded by everything, she realized something. Her mark simply made her more raw. Tore away everything, leaving only her basest desires and she knew. She knew without a doubt, that she didn’t want to do that.
After all, that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to protect her people. Her emotions, her feelings similar to my own and yet, at the final moment, she must have realized… Betraying me, right at this moment. Was that not, stupid? Because in this moment, with that single action. Fera had provided the single greatest help I could have ever received. She had given me a moment. A moment I took hold of with all I had. My ki surged. The enemy, Arms, The Vampire, and even The Shinobi all realized what was coming. They all moved, hoping to stop it, to reclaim what was lost.
Only, no matter how they wished it, it wouldn’t come to pass. My ki ignited, lit on fire. Burning a toxic blue that engulfed my form. Claws formed at the ends of my hand. My hair ignited and swayed like it was fire itself. My tail as well changed. My ki erupted out, the explosive energy pushing them back another moment.
I brandished my claws and charged forward, Arms attempted to beat me back, only to miss. I maneuvered around his fists, my claws tearing into his flesh like ease, leaving cauterized wounds in its wake. I leapt away, avoiding the rain of blood and lances, clawed hands ripped out from my ki, slapping aside lances with ease, and simply burning the bloody rain. Even the Shinobi’ ethereal blades, energy slashes and all that, were nothing. Breaking on impact with my ki, unable to penetrate.
After all that, I hit the ground, landing just beside Fera. Just outside their encirclement. Uncaged. Ready to rip and tear. The world stuttered, I turned to look at Fera, our eyes locked. Both of us shared predatory smiles. And… we moved.
Bloody lances fell from the sky, Fera and I weaved through them aiming for the crazed Arms. We ran side by side, claws at the ready, Arms struck out, and we split. Dashing forward, blood spraying behind us along with a roar of pain. Arms fell to his knees, large gaping wounds in his body gushing blood. His corrupted ki attempting to staunch the flow, heal him, despite the grievous injuries.
We did not pursue, we changed targets. The Shinobi moved forward to cut us off. Appearing before us, blade sheathed. Our eyes locked forward on our target, just behind the Shinobi, the Vampire. The moment her blade was unsheathed, the air changed. A dense network of razor thin blades of energy tore out, with her at the origin. Nearly invisible, nigh indiscernible. Only barely visible with the dense falling rain. The air before us, like a shattered pane of glass.
Neither of us slowed or held back. Our ki surged together, and we charged forward. The energy cut into us. Both of us sharing the burden. Like running headfirst into a net of razor wires. It cut into us, attempting to dice us into pieces. Alone, I would have likely succumbed. Together, our ki tore the net. We shot forward, bypassing the Shinobi.
The Vampire fled back, hands moving forward. A beast made of blood; a giant hungering maw launched itself forward. We still did not slow. Not even as the hungering maw opened before us, seeking to swallow us whole. Our ki once more surged. My own ki launched out hundreds of bolts of burning ki, whilst Fera’s own ki launched out as well, a stream of stars erupted form our forms, perforating and obliterating the beast before us.
We went through the dissipating blood. Crashing through it, ignoring the surrounding blood beasts. With a single powerful leap, we had made our way towards the Vampire. Our ki’s surged, mixed, churned. And we let loose. A powerful energy wave erupted out, completely enveloping the Vampire, obliterating them from existence. Not even a shred of them left. Even then, the blood sea churned and swirled. A whirlpool formed slowly rebuilding her body, her eyes wide and yet, she laughed and laughed.
We hit the ground and separated. The ground where we were exploded into pieces. A dense network of slashes tearing it apart. And we once more went to work. Our coordination, perfect. Our claws sharp. We cut and bit. Ripping into our opponents. The Shinobi tried to stop us, but we were too much. They would cut or slash, one of us would take the blow whilst the other hunted, taking blood.
Arms recovered, coming back for seconds, only to be overwhelmed as we snap and bit like feral wolves. His arms were riddled with wounds, bones exposed while we stripped away the flesh and muscle underneath. It was exhilarating. The unity I felt with Fera in that moment, so raw, so true.
We continued to beat back the Vampire, forcing her to reform her body again and again, her bloody ocean dwindling to a mere pool. The Shinobi grew tired, long gashes covering her body burned with an odd fire that slowly burnt away those wounds. Leaving healthy flesh behind. At this moment everyone came to the same realization, we had to go further. If we wanted to end our fight, we would have to give it our all. To go beyond, further beyond, plus Ultra.
The first to do so, was Arms. His energy erupting. A bloody glow covering his form, showing that he was using the technique he had learned from me. Kaio-Ken. The Shinobi followed next, her body erupted in flames. Her eyes changing, horns and wings forming on her person. Her entire being changing in an instant. The Vampire followed next, with a cry, the last of the blood swirled and gathered on her form, she changed into something almost bestial. A bloody beast. Something between a bat and something more.
Seeing them transform, we too followed. Even with the possible threat, I knew, I pushed. Utilizing Kaio-Ken, my own energy surged out, my body held. My heart thumped painfully but held. Signaling, I could do this. Fera let out a grown, her body expanded and grew. Her slim body transformed into something hulking. A kind of lizard like appearance, dense, muscular. Her own energy exploded out. A moment, a pause. We all grinned, and we all went for it once more.
The Vampire, now a bloody bat like beast, screamed. The air vibrated, rubble disintegrated. I felt my organs pulse and shake. Breaking down to slush, only to be healed by my ki. My ears popped, and yet, even in the absolute silence, I could still hear their scream.
Fera leapt out, tackling the beast. Ripping and tearing into it. Arms came for me, leaving after-images while he punched and swept out. The Shinobi, now a fiery demon came forward, her blade coated in fire slashed out, shattering the word itself with its power and intent.
The blade cut through me and chopped off an arm, only for my ki to bite out, latching on the separated arm and reconnecting it. Arms punched with incredible power, I ducked under the blow and launched myself out, slamming my head into his chest. I heard bones crack, both from my skull and his chest, a twist of my body, and my tail crashed into his side, sweeping him away. Another twist of my body in mid-air had me avoid a cutting slash, my claws whipped out, clashing with the Shinobi’s blade. The force of the collision sent me into the ground, I hit the ground and rolled, just as Arms came charging over. Fists dug into the ground chasing me.
The claws on my feet found purchase on concrete, I dashed away and hit the ground, barely avoiding Fera as she went flying. A quick turn and I aimed for the bloody bat beast, its claws swiped out, but I merely leapt over them and spun. It opened its mouth to scream, only for my tail to crash into the top of its head, snapping the jaws shut. Blood sprayed out; a chunk of its tongue went flying. It hit the ground and I pushed past, Arms just behind me leapt forward, A surge of my ki sent me to the side, avoiding him, and he crashed into the ground ahead.
I glanced at the battlefield, seeing Fera dancing around the Shinobi’s slashes, the bloody bat beast slowly stood back up, shaking its head. Arms slowly stood as well. Fera and I were on opposite ends of the battle, and yet… At the same time, we all stopped.
A final cutting slash, of the Shinobi, followed by a slap of Fera’s tail after avoiding it with a jump and a twist. She hit the ground and skidded; our two groups separated by an invisible divide. And then, silence. We all heaved and panted. Blood dripping to the ground. We were all smiling, and we all began laughing.
None of us wanted this to end, and yet… As if agreed upon, we all undid our transformations. Each of us were exhausted, but even then, we congregated.
“That was fun as hell!” The vampire spoke up, laughing uproariously. “To think, people like you still exist.” She said with a hint of melancholy. And, to a point I understood her. She had started all of this, in hopes of getting a fight like this, hadn’t she? In a way, each of us were kindred spirits, were we not?
“I am glad we could fight again, Rettas.” The Shinobi said, her blade sheathed. She took a moment to bow, to show her respect, even then, a wide grin was on her face. “I had never thought, just how far I could go until today.” She looked at me, then her blade, her smile going soft. “Thank you.” She said sincerely.
Arms, he walked up. “I’m glad we could finally fight. Though…” He trailed off, a little lost. “I must admit, I would have preferred we fight to the death.” We all laughed at that.
“And what be the point in that?” Fera said, now back to her base form, clothes in tatters. “I mean, we all know if this kept up it would be mutual suicide.” At her words we laughed again, she wasn’t wrong. This whole battle was going to end poorly for all of us, hence why we stopped. We had shown our stuff. Gone all out, save for our ultimate techniques. Techniques that would without a doubt end with each of us dead, and what was the point of that? None of us were truly fighting for reasons worth dying for.
Perhaps we could have gone all out, all for a single explosive moment of glory, but... Not a single one of us was willing to die for such a stupid reason. Each of us had a purpose a goal, and to achieve those goals meant we had to survive and continue fighting. Continue moving forward. Even Arms, who had seemed so lost now seemed free. Something in him had changed fundamentally, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Even standing on the rubble of a now ruined world. Even now, surrounded by the corpses of the dead and dying. Those few alive looked at us and gaped, shocked and bewildered, and yet… I could also feel how conflicted they felt. They wanted us to kill each other. To fight each other to the end. But at the same time, those that had claimed the mark now understood, for they too had become beasts. No longer were they mere sheep. Still, to many, it was a slap in the face to see us stopping and laughing like this. like old friends meeting one another. Not that any of us really cared. Yes, many of my crew died, but so what? They knew what they were getting into following me, and I was still upholding my promise to them. I would show them the end of this path I was walking, towards a world none of them could have imagined.
In much the same way, each of those before me thought the same. Of that, I was certain.
“I admit, continuing would be fun, but I don’t feel like dying for something like this.” The vampire spoke up. “By the way, people call me The Baroness, but you can all call me Mary.”
We all greeted her, calling her by name.
“I am Kaede, new leader of what was called the Sakura Petal.” Once more we greeted her.
“Fera, no last name.” Fera said calmly. Once more we greeted her.
“Armfourth, but… everyone calls me Arms.” Again, we greeted him, nods were shared and smiles.
“Rettas, no last name.” I said, and once more they greeted and smiled, our names shared. Our fun had, now was the aftermath. All heads turned to face me. Waiting on me, I didn’t much mind. After all, in a way, they had accepted that I was stronger. It just how beasts did things.
“Now, I suppose we should talk about what happens now.” They looked around and nodded, agreeing.
“True, I started this whole mess because I was looking forward to the Majin breaking free. Seeing them overthrow society and all that.” Mary said flippantly.
“I don’t much care about that. I only care about wielding my blade and finding worthy opponents.” Kaede said. Her eyes lingering on me for a moment too long.
Arms merely shrugged. “I got what I wanted, anything else is extra.”
“Frankly, I don’t much care.” Fera admitted. “For the longest time, my purpose was my people, but now? Now with RON essentially defunct, I think we can carve a place for ourselves without much issue.”
“Is that why you helped her?” Mary asked, “After all, I swore you were going to stab her in the back.” She finished with a laugh, as did everyone else. It would have been funny, to them. If I died like that. I couldn’t blame them. It was just how it was.
“I was considering it, up to the final second. But… seeing everything happening and thinking of our history. I realized, betraying her at this moment wouldn’t really help me, now, would it? Better to assist her in times of trouble and cement our friendship.” Fera admitted. Nods followed, not a soul questioning her.
“So, what about you Rettas? Surely you got a plan.” Mary asked after we had another round of jokes and conversation.
I folded my arms and grinned. “In fact, I do.” So, I shared it. I spoke of it. And they all stared at me in awe. Feral, hungry, predatory smiles on all their faces.
“That, sounds like fun.” Mary said, each of them agreeing. “Count me in.”
And like that, each of them joined in. Hands were shaken, deals made. A problem down. I had secured them for my plans, and for dealing with the Majin. Thus, marking the end of the war for RON…
Except, the moment we all thought that, and our agreements made. The world shook. Every head snapped over to a single location. A towering ki erupted out, garnering our attention. Even those in orbit paused, sensing what we were. Even Jake, preparing to enter the field of battle stopped.
Bailey, long forgotten, not that she minded stood panting, having backed out when she realized she couldn’t keep up looked over, her eyes widened. The power she could sense, was far greater then Rettas and all those monsters combined.
Even Aspa, wallowing in darkness. Through some twist of fate, he could hear the words spoken by Rettas and company. An incessant whisper in his head, constantly speaking, offering power. In that moment, he blinked and found new strength. Forcing himself up and out of the ruined basement. Through the rubble to the world above. He fell to his knees, his newfound strength leaving him as he stared and gaped. A pillar of light had appeared where ehe sensed the energy, a towering energy, no, something else.
What they all felt, was a simple thing. An incredible thing. A true god, descending.
Moments prior. At where the head of the Senate sat. The now ruined building that had represented the central authority for all of RON. Below that building sat a machine. A tower machine, used as the primary host for the Admin, a collective of minds and souls, all wishing for the same purpose.
Peace.
For a long time, for as long as any person or historian in RON could remember, the Admin served as the bulwark of their democracy. Handling elections and civic duties. Essentially handling all the mundane paperwork without a single hint of corruption. It was why RON could even function.
Despite politicians abusing their authority, it was why, RON still existed after so long. In the greater universe, no other democracy existed, each great state functioned with a central authority for a reason. After all, it was impossible to do an empire worth of paperwork efficiently unless there was a single central figure to coordinate it all. The Admin, could.
Ever since its inception, since the first people to download their conscience willingly into a central server, The Admin had never truly agreed upon anything. In fact, opposing opinions were celebrated, encouraged. System checks and balances kept it so that not one ideology ever reigned.
And so, the centuries had passed. Their numbers grew. Rarely had they ever had a majority vote, rarer still a super majority vote. Yet, staring at the laughing monsters, the beasts before them, for the first time the Admin stopped and considered.
As one, they all thought. Siding with the Freedom Coalition was done, because they believed at the minimum, they could act as an opposite to the Silver Sun’s and Fera. Keeping RON fragmented and allow them to piece together a new government, and thus keep peace, even if the Majin wins or loses, that had been the plan.
Yet, the leader of the coalition was dead, by the hands of Fera, foolishly leading a team of soldiers to take her down, only to be ripped to shreds. Forgetting that Fera had been a soldier, a bio-engineered beast created for war. A very, and they had to admit it, a very politician thing to do. The other leader, Mary, The Baroness, a known insurgent who constantly mucked around, fighting against the system. Though, within tolerance, was now working with Rettas. Something they couldn’t begin to imagine.
Along with everything else, the Admin came to a startling conclusion. Rettas was more than just a threat. More than just something that could be weathered or ignored. Something they all had to admit.
What Rettas represented was a literal calamity. All her actions and all the data pointed to a singular conclusion, even her plans that she had shared with them terrified Admin. It spoke of one thing, a universe without peace. Without society. SO long as she lived, there would be no peace.
And as one, a vote was taken. And as one, they came to, for the first time in their existence, the collective came to a singular goal.
That Rettas, must die.
So, for the first time, the Admin, now joined into one. Moved. And in doing so, a god had been born. A true God.
