Regina kept a close eye upon me, yet get gaze shifted over to Woo-Chi, the easier target of us two. She tensed her body and bolted toward Woo-Chi with a superman punch which Woo-Chi blocked then she ducked under Regina's spinning heel kick.
Blocking Regina's following elbow, she followed with another block of Regina's back kick. She noticed an opening upon Regina's side, but the Wind led her sights higher, bringing her to an unanswered head kick to stun Regina.
"Nngh..! How is she this strong..?" Regina questioned as she staggered, regaining her balance and fired a beam of white energy at Woo-Chi from her hand.
Special Air began to glow and release and powerful burst of wind around Woo-Chi, blocking the beam with a barrier. Woo-Chi grunted softly from the intense pressures of the collision, her eyes watching as the wind barrier began to slowly dissipate in the air from the power of Regina's beam.
I swapped placed with Woo-Chi and formed a small orb of Holy Energy then pressed it against the beam of energy. "Sephora, amply it."
Sephora began to glow around my gauntlet, adding her energy into my orb with expanded the orb gradually with each pulse of energy. The orb began pushing Regina's attack back, the pressure of the orb stunning her in place as the orb drew closer.
"Fly away!" Claudio called out from the distance, using his Golden Tongue ability to send my orb flying into the air and detonating.
"What was that? Did he just command your attack?" Woo-Chi asked, looking over at me with slight confusion.
"Hm, there's a reason why I never claim myself to be God or even a Reincarnation of Yesha Himself. Claudio is my reason because he's called Exzodia's Equal in The Chronicles while Yesha had no equals," I said, crossing my arms and letting out a soft chuckle.
"Alright, so we're using Oral Abilities now? Do you think you can just command Merin to Death?" I asked, looking at Claudio with an intrigued expression.
"If I say 'die' my target will die, guaranteed. If I told an ally to 'live' they will live. My Golden Tongue has never failed me once," Claudio said, walking forward and rolled his shoulder.
"Is that so? Then use it upon me if it's guaranteed. I am your target right now, so if you willed me to die then do it and Merin is all yours," I said, standing still and dared not to move a single muscle.
Claudio smirked at me, thinking I was insane for the challenge, yet my bold challenge intrigued him into taking it. "Hmph! You asked for this, Messiah! Die!"
As his words hit my ears, I closed my eyes and my silver aura pulsed around my body, completely negating his Golden Tongue. I hummed softly and opened my eyes, meeting Claudio's surprised gaze. "It failed, and I will tell you why. My life is not yours to take or anyone else's, but God's. I lay my own life down, my Father is the only one who can take my life."
Claudio sucked his teeth and scoffed, going back to his original plan and charged in with a knee strike that I parried with my elbow. Sending his knee down heavily, I countered with a body shot that left Claudio coughing then struck him once more with a pulse strike, knocking him backwards off his feet.
I ran forward and leaped in the air for a spinning kick, but Claudio managed to evade my attack then launched a high kick of his own. I warped to the ground to avoid his kick then grabbed his leg, taking him to the ground then vanished, leaving Claudio confused.
"What is this..? He's never done this in our first fight...has he been holding back against me?" Claudio asked, smirking lightly and chuckled as he rose to his feet and let out his Tribal Howl. "Do you not see me as a threat? Someone worthy of your full time?!"
I watched as Claudio transformed into his Tengoku Form from the distance and hummed softly. 'No, you are not a threat... because you're just lost but now you're found. And being seen like this...scares you.'
Claudio looked over in my direction, watching as I walked toward him and formed a ball of light within my hand. He smirked at me, launching himself toward me then shifted angles around the trees to catch me with a roundhouse. I tossed the ball of light behind me, the orb detonating and the explosion pushing Claudio back.
Claudio grunted as he rolled backwards then charged back toward me with a series of strikes, each strike I flawlessly evaded then blocked his next punch with the back of my hand. He grit his teeth as he looked at my calm expression, my silver aura slowly taking over his Destiny Aura.
I watched as Claudio leaped backwards, lowering my hand and let out a soft hum. "You think you can even match me with just Tengoku's or Jigoku's power? Not even Nigoku can save you. Neither can Genesis or Ragnarok, nor can belief in any of Exzodia and Eyica's legends can."
"You want to prove yourself? You can not because this assignment you believe is meant for you is not for you to complete. Your Abilities, as grand as they are, does not make you worthy of what you think you are," I continued, swapping my gauntlet upon my left hand then unleashed my aura in my Sovereignty Stance.
"So what? You're saying belief in you is what saves us? What have you realistically done since St. Meishi that grants you such status?" Claudio asked, scoffing lightly at me and grabbed his amulet around his neck.
"Nothing because it was simply being obedient to God. I was being obedient to my Lord, and your Lord. My faith stands solely with Yesha, The Word who stood in the beginning before time. I am an Echo, someone that reverberates what has already been said and done," I answered, closing my eyes and exhaling softly, my hair becoming white and blue silver.
Claudio's body instinctively prepared him for the next stage in the skirmish, my Super Form having him upon the edge. 'Even the air around the forest has shifted...my domain is responding to him...'
"However, I must also praise Him for what He has given me dominion over which is Exzodia and Eyica. For I am its current, true Lord, it is my assignment to defeat Merin for the Glory of God and turn him into the court of Heaven for his transgressions!" I announced, focusing my gaze upon Claudio, my sights set upon the Spirit of Pride within him.
"Yet, I am Destiny's Chosen! If you won't act as you should, I step into your place as the true chosen!" Claudio bellowed, transforming into his Nigoku Form and launched himself toward me.
I rushed toward him as well, catching him off guard with my sudden pressure and forcing him to block high so I could land a stunning knee to his stomach. Claudio grunted as he stumbled backwards but retaliated with a punch which I blocked before it could fully extend. Reading him perfectly, I parried his middle shot and blocked his high blow.
I released a destructive pulse of energy around my body to blow Claudio away, warping after him with a punch to his jaw in to a knee to his stomach. As he flew forward, I caught him with an elbow to his back to send him down then warped below him with a roundhouse kick to send him flying backwards.
I got down onto the ground, my butterflies taking formation into the Aries Constellation. "Zodiac Arts: Velocity Devastation!"
Claudio recovered onto his feet, looking forward to see me bolting forward and barely dodged my first attack only for an afterimage to strike him from behind. I appeared in front of him with a ram that sent him backwards, my afterimage charging ahead to strike him once more and send him further backwards.
I summoned an angelic bow, my butteries taking formation into the Sagittarius Constellation as I locked onto Claudio. "Zodiac Arts: Perfect Alignment!"
I drew the bowstring backwards as an arrow of light formed within the bow then fired the single arrow at Claudio, the arrow flying toward him at perfect speed and alignment. Claudio could do nothing but watch as the arrow headed straight for him, only for the arrow to dispersed into butterflies, sparing his life.
Claudio chuckled softly to himself as I had spared him once more, standing up onto his feet and shedded everything he knew about his gods and his religion. "You spare me again..? Why? To prove a point? I get it, this is your lands, your home...but where I was born outside these walls..."
"I am known as Earth's Savior!" Claudio boasted, pointing to himself as his tribal tattoos began shifting from gold to multicolored.
I crossed my arms and shifted my foot, awakening my Hyper Form and chuckled lightly at his statement. "Funny... because I only know of one true Savior. The Eternal God! You might have preserved Earth's lifespan, but that was only through the works of God! Your greatest deeds are not for you to use for boasts, but for the Glory of God to be known!"
Claudio pressed his hand upon his chest, the Spirit of Pride beginning to heat up and stir within his body. "I stopped the remaining Syndicates! Your Savior did nothing! I acquired ultimate power! I mastered Esoria's power! I am known as Savior of two entire regions!"
"And who willed that? The One who gave you that power. You think all of your power belongs to you? You honestly believe your own body is yours to claim? What deeds have you done to claim for Him to say, 'Well done my good and faithful servant'?" I asked, uncrossing my arms and adjusting my gauntlet.
"More than you, Exzodia's Savior. I can actually stop my adversaries while yours tarnishes your name, your home, your family and makes you out to be the villain! To prove to you I am more worthy, I'll beat you using your own power!" Claudio bellowed, strengthening his energy, his hair flickering from light brown to silver.
I watched as Claudio began sacrificing his own Esorian Energy, replacing such energy with a more holy ancient energy. I listened to his howls, the winds picking up as he drew deeper from his core, his tribal tattoos glowing brightly upon his body.
"Mr. Nox! What is he doing?" Woo-Chi asked loudly, trying to reach her voice to me through the howling winds and Claudio's bellows.
Regina grunted softly as she watched Claudio power up even further, the Love Sigil upon her chest shattering from her chest. She recoiled backwards in shock, placing her hand upon her chest as Claudio's pride began breaking the chains holding him down.
"I can see why you're this angry. You can be angry, but do not let that anger turn into sin! Do not let that wrath consume you!" I said, walking over toward Claudio through the blasting winds.
Do-hari watched from behind a tree, her heart racing from the intensity within the air for the fight for Claudio's very soul. She glanced up at the sky, closing her eyes and silently praying for any assistance. She could hear Claudio's pained howls, the howls of him trying to breakthrough one chain holding his neck.
Regina fell to her knees as she could feel the esoteric energy leave her body, the energy forming over Claudio into the form of a black sword. She looked up, her elven body too weak to move as the demonic energy within her had left. "Master..."
Claudio grunted in pain, gripping his hair and faltering onto one knee as his flesh continued to deny his spirit from accessing his true might. "I...must...and I won't be satisfied...unless I do this!"
I stopped in front of Claudio and looked up at the black sword looming over his body, a sword that took a blasphemous form of the Lance of Judecca. As it shot down to impale Claudio, I blasted it away into the short distance and looked down at Claudio.
I could see a faint Crest glowing upon his back, the Crest of Shiuji, yet it was being blocked out by Nigoku's Seal. "It's time to leave behind these false idols. Shiro fell and was redeemed, Ryder with the help of Hisumi ended the Mojisolan Cycle...now it's time for you to lead them back home, Claudio Shiuji."
The black sword behind Claudio took shape of a white haired man, his hand extending out to take the Power Beads from around Claudio's neck. The man picked up his sword from the ground, looking at it and felt its immense power within it.
"Ardor was right...the Mojisolan Prophecy was true all those years ago, there will be a heir who will perfect this power. Faith does hold more power than violence ever could," The man said, looking over at me and Claudio.
The immense presence from the man nearly caused Woo-Chi, Do-hari, and Regina to crumble to their knees with their faces lowered, but I held my arm out and stopped them from falling. Before us was Claudio's Spirit of Pride, the false god and false Messiah, Nigoku.
Nigoku directed his gaze toward Claudio, seeing his weakened form and smirked at him and began to approach him, dragging his sword against the ground. "The true heir of the Mojisola Tribe...so should I say, the heir of the Shiuji Tribe. You've done well mastering the Ecclesiastes verse, 'a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build'."
'So Claudio's true power came from a Biblos verse..?' Regina thought to herself in disbelief, her shaken eyes shifting between Claudio and Nigoku.
As Nigoku rose his sword to strike Claudio down for his failures, he grunted as my blast of energy knocked him away. He staggered backwards, regaining his balance to look at me with a smirk. "You still wish to spare that failure? He couldn't even draw out his true power when it mattered!"
I lowered my hand and placed my hand upon Claudio's shoulder as I walked in guard of him then reverted back to my Sovereignty Form. "What you see as failure, I see as the start of a New Creation. While the Shiuji did wander off too far from Eyica into the mainlands of Earth, they are coming back home..."
"You tried to infiltrate through the sheep who came back home like a ravaging dire wolf, sweeping up the nations like your next hunt and changing how Exzodia and Eyica are truly meant to be! You manipulate the Gospels, you create false idols, you steal Genesis and Ragnarok to create Tengoku and Jigoku!" I continued, my butterflies appearing one by one until all 13 had appeared.
Nigoku grinned at me, watching with arrogance as I began to awaken more of my power to face off against him. "You're nothing but a softening Echo, Noxius. You're confined to the walls of Exzodia and Eyica while I have worldwide influence! I, with the help of Merin Tsu, brought your downfall!"
"Obviously, we were overzealous by leaving you and that chick Luciel live...but now, I have the chance of finishing what we started then I'll take out your Equal. Then, I'll wipe out everyone you love... starting with your Earthly Wife," Nigoku sneered with a vile grin, pointing his sword over to Do-hari.
I summoned Madriax into my hand then placed it on the ground next to me, my eyes shimmering an amber glow and my Exzodian Lord of Lords sigil glowing upon my stomach. "There will be no mercy for false gods and idols who lead my Lord's sheep away. Baal, Moloch, Ra, Zeus, all of them are worthless in the presence of a real threat..."
I stood back onto my feet and took a deep breath then exhaled, holding my hand out to summon Anduril into my hand with white cloth wrapped around its blade. "However, you must give thanks to Him as He tells me it's not your time to truly die...at least not by my hands at the very least."
Nigoku smirked at my statement then glanced over at the weakened Claudio behind me, bursting into mocking laughter. He held his stomach as he laughed, unable to believe the words coming from my mouth. "That clown is prophesied to kill me? A human?!"
I chuckled along with him and glanced back at Claudio, seeing his Shiuji Crest shimmering brighter at Nigoku's mockery of him. "I suppose you're right...after all, his tribe has fell repeatedly for centuries until now. I guess he does need your help."
Claudio grit his teeth as he listened to us, gripping the grass beneath him, Nigoku's laughter beginning to anger him, his tribal tattoos glowing a silver light once again. "You dare mock me?! After I served under you, followed everything you said because you said it'll bring me closer to God, to Perfection! To Salvation!"
Claudio shot back up onto his feet, his anger not directed toward me as my taunt was the fire he needed to get back up. "You lied to me, used my own belief against me and my Tribe for centuries! Tell me, was it truly you and Ardor who sent Lustie or Lusella to make Shiro fall as Hisumi said in her book?!"
Nigoku hummed at Claudio's sudden rejuvenation, his gaze becoming interested in the Holy Spark upon Claudio's chest as truth began to fill his eyes. "The Book of Hisumi...So, you truly do believe what she had to say. I'll tell you...it was me and Ardor who sent Lustie, but Shiro surprised us...when he broke the curse the first time."
"Freeing Lusella and her sisters from the Esorian Curse and even claiming dominion over Esoria. That's why Esoria is known claimed Mojisola, my domain. But...once he found Yesha, he became useless to me," Nigoku said with an unbothered expression on his face, shrugging his shoulders.
I glanced over at Claudio, seeing his head held low as he began to understand the truth. I placed my hand on his back, understanding his destroyed emotions as the lies and deception of his entire tribe began to settle in his mind. I said not a word, only stood in comfort of a returning brother.
Nigoku smirked at us, tilting his head to crack his neck then rushed in for an attack while our guards were down. "Mourn while you can! This will be your last moments!"
Without a moment of thought, Regina rushed into action, using her nature energy to propel herself between us and Nigoku. "Master!"
Nigoku slashed down, striking Regina with his blade and spiked her to the ground, leaving behind a deep wound on her side. He looked down at Regina, humming softly with intrigue that she would intercept. "Well now..."
Claudio's eyes widened as he saw Regina's wounded body upon the ground, his immediately reaction being to push me off him to go toward Regina's aid. He watched as she winced in pain, one of the women that had been with him since the beginning of his very journey, now badly wounded by a false Judecca.
"Too bad, that strike was meant for you...now she has three days until death. That love she has for you is strong, even through the deception...after all, you did treat her wonderfully," Nigoku said with mockery, laughing lightly at Claudio.
Claudio growled lowly, his blood boiling with every second that went by he witnessed Regina's injury. He gently touched her shoulder, but she winced greatly, her body too in pain to recieve his healing touch. "What did you do..?"
"I just told you...I fatally cursed her. That wound may heal, but the curse within her body won't. It's over for your beloved elf," Nigoku said with a grin, flourishing his sword to wipe away Regina's blood then glanced at me.
I crossed my arms and sent a butterfly toward Regina, warping her into my arms then gave a hinting glance toward Claudio. "Your fight isn't with me..."
Nigoku glanced down at Claudio, sensing an increase in his energy, Claudio's aura splitting between silver and scarlet red. He noticed his tribal tattoos humming a gradient of silver and red, his Holy Spark growing into a Holy Ember. "What is this..? You've grown in strength after I had slain one of your nine wives?"
Claudio gripped his head as he began to hear Genesis's soft voice telling him to let go of the bottling emotions. He slammed his fist against the ground, letting out a primal howl. "What did you do to MY Regina!?"
Within that moment of outburst, Claudio had transformed into his Super Form, his aura surging around his body like wild winds. The pressure of his aura cracked the ground, the sheer intensity shaking Woo-Chi and Do-hari for a moment, causing them to break out into sweats.
Nigoku stared at Claudio, unable to make sense of his new Super Form and hummed with curiosity. Without hesitation, Claudio charged toward Nigoku with a strike, but Nigoku immediately intercepted with a slash of his sword at Claudio's shoulder.
Claudio phased through the attack, catching Nigoku with a disarming blow to his jaw and followed with a high reaching kick to send him into the air. He gave chase with a roundhouse kick, but Nigoku autonomously dodged his attack then countered with a blow to his stomach to send him crashing back down.
Nigoku followed him toward the ground, but Claudio let out a roar and unleashed his aura, pushing Nigoku backwards. While Nigoku was recovering, Claudio blindsided him with a double axe handle to the back of his head, sending him flipping to the ground.
Nigoku landed upon one knee, grunting lightly and placed his hand upon the back of his head. "His attacks pack a hard punch even without me...what is this..? How does he still retain his power without me..?"
Claudio propelled himself toward Nigoku with a Superkick, a flash of iridescent energy pulsing around his foot despite his miss. He followed with a Surging Upper, Nigoku evading his uppercut yet noticing iridescent lightning flashing around his hand. He blocked his Heavenly Impact with an x block, grunting softly as iridescent winds pushed him back.
"What is this..?! Why is he retaining his abilities? It should make no sense! He am without me, so why? This human keeps his awakened gifts that I gave him?!" Nigoku raged, his aura surging around his body as he increased his power.
Claudio inhaled slowly then exhaled, getting into an Orthodox stance and listened to the soft winds around him. He closed his eyes, replacing Tengoku with his true Exzodian mother, Genesis. 'His power grew, yet...I don't feel afraid. Why you allowed me to keep my Iridescence is beyond me...but thank you, Yesha...'
"This is playing out just as Shiro's Day...I don't have the false Adam with me and Merin has Eva's Spirit...fine, I guess I'll just kill you with my greatest tools!" Nigoku challenged, spreading his silver and red winds wide and proudly as he opened the Monarch Index.
Nigoku fired two beams of divine energy at Claudio, Claudio bracing himself for impact nearly immediately. The beams made impact, a large smoke cloud forming from the explosion. As the smoke began to clear, Claudio opened his eyes to see he was unharmed then looked up to see The Echo standing in front of him.
Claudio looked past The Echo to see me still standing with Regina in my arms. He smirked at me, turning his attention back toward Nigoku. "It's a shame that I have to rely on you...yet for some reason I'm not upset by it..."
"Why should you be..? You still have favor with The Lord, you're still His sheep in his eyes," The Echo said, glancing back at Claudio and summoned Anduril into his hand.
"I know that now. Now, let's take this fraud down!" Claudio bellowed, launching himself toward Nigoku.
Nigoku fired multiple lasers at Claudio, but he autonomously dodged and phased through each laser then got low onto the ground to catch him with an athletic NY Flare, a rush of winds sweeping him into the air. He kicked Nigoku in the air, The Echo warping above him to catch him with a heavy slash.
Nigoku grunted as he bounced off the ground and back into his feet, summoning his false Sword of Judecca into his hand to clash with The Echo. The two danced around the forest, the life around the forest letting out their cries as the sounds of metal clashing rang into the air.
"How are you keeping up?! Just who are you?!" Nigoku bellowed, parrying each of The Echo's slashes then thrusted his sword forward.
The Echo parried his slash then shifted his stance, landing two Aikido Slashes then a delayed slash to stagger him. Shifting into the Arcanian Eternal Rain Stance, he began dishing a lethal number of slashes upon Nigoku's body, the wounds upon his body adding like the number of sins he had committed.
Nigoku roared and pushed The Echo back, only for Claudio to swap placed with The Echo to land a devious Destiny Flash flush against his jaw. Nigoku grunted as he was sent flying across the forest then spread his wings to fly away, knowing he was fighting a losing battle.
Running somewhere..?
Where are you going..?
Yesha said, "Ye are gods..."
Act like it...
Or is it you know your gloryhood is false...?
Nigoku heard Ragnarok's taunting voice in the air, not knowing how his voice could reach outside of Exzodia then glanced ahead to see The Echo in front of him. He gasped and halted from flying, slowly flying backwards into Claudio's Surging Upper.
The Echo warped above him and landed a slash to send him crashing back down, Claudio following with an axe kick to spike Nigoku to the ground even faster. Nigoku landed on his feet, letting out a roar and firing a beam at the sky toward the two.
"I let my pride blind me, but not again! It is my task to bring my family, all of them, back home! I let you deceive me for too...long!" Claudio bellowed, firing a Destiny Flash back down at Nigoku's beam, his iridescent beam colliding with Nigoku's.
"I won't allow a human to defeat me! I am a god! I am the strongest god there is! I caused Yesha to be forgotten! The Mojisolan Religion outweighs you Believers by miles!" Nigoku boasted, adding more power to his pulsing beam.
Claudio grunted in slightly distress as Nigoku's beam began to overpower his, the struggle against his false god going against him. "I won't lose to you! I refuse to let my power waste away to you! Destiny... OVERDRIVE!!"
With his echoing Tribal Howl, he pushed beyond his mortal limits to unleash a devastating beam to push back against Nigoku's, his Spirit Energy burning away by the second and his tattoos dimming one by one. Nigoku grunted softly as Claudio's began to actually challenge him, his underestimation beginning to cost him.
Nigoku began to plot in his head, noticing Claudio's beam nearing him and grinned as he disengaged and moved out the way for the beam to hit the ground. However, a reflective, translucent platform reflected the beam straight toward Nigoku for a head on collision.
"What the hell was that..?!" Nigoku grunted, barely blocking the beam with his wing and looked forward to see me rushing toward him. "What the—"
"Regina is back at home in Exzodia, so now it's just us! Claudio's too tired to fight, but I am still available to drive you out of my grounds, Destiny Island!" I bellowed, launching a rushing blow toward his face, the attack making contact and sending him backwards.
Nigoku recovered by outstretching his wings, noticing me warping in front of him with a straight kick against his stomach following with two ascending kicks to launch myself and him into the air. I warped into an axe kick to send him into Claudio for the follow up attack.
Claudio charged forward with flying Superkick, launching him backwards then used a burst of wind to somersault forward in to a palm strike. Nigoku parried his strike and kicked Claudio away, The Echo warping forward with a crescent kick to send him crashing to the ground.
Nigoku rolled backwards into a recovery, parrying my Warp Strike and the Echo's follow up then autonomously dodged my chop. "This is getting annoying!"
Nigoku roared and expanded his aura, shifting his aura to Dragonic Energy and transformed into his Ryushin Form, his angel wings shifting into dragon wings. He launched a Crushing Claw toward my midsection, but I parried with a 12 to 6 elbow then The Echo countered with a straight to his jaw.
Before Nigoku could get the chance to counter, I warped toward him with a staggering body shot then wrapped my chain around his ankle. I began whipping him around, dragging him across the ground like a ragdoll to show him how Claudio, Shiro, and Ryder felt he used them.
"You drag others across the dirt, show them false promises and waste their God given potential because you know you yourself can't seek redemption! False gods like you have a special place down below!" I bellowed, slamming Nigoku onto the ground once again.
"The Shiuji are known for knowing when it's the time for war and the time for peace, it's their very teachings...a teaching you distorted for your own gains. You did the very thing Luca stood against even as a Tyrant... distortion of God's Word," I continued, pressing my foot against his chest and looked down at Nigoku.
"Sure, Luca initially denied Yesha over a misunderstanding he could've asked his brother context for...but one thing is for certain, he knew God's words. After all, before Terminus whispered in his ear, he knew he was an elohim. He learned from Raphael and Michael after all," I finished, seeing the anger within Nigoku's eyes.
"I despise you, Noxius...I despise the fact that God remembered this dying land! I despise the fact that He still cares about this land enough to echo the Immaculate Conception just to have Earth remember Yesha! I had this war won!" Nigoku roared, snarling under my silver foot yet unable to break free.
"'It is finished'!" I declared loudly, staring down at Nigoku with a fierce glare. "Nothing you can do can change Yesha's finished works, even if you managed to blind everyone's ears and plug their ears! Or maybe it's just the fact that only Exzodia and Eyica remembers Him?"
"Or maybe, it's just that we haven't said His true name yet as He commanded us to call Him by our Exzodian Language. However, I know and He knows that saying His true name would immediately eviscerate you...so I'll grant you that level of mercy," I added, itching to say my Lord's true name upon Exzodian grounds.
The air thickened as the creatures around sang their cries, the nature around us shifting as Nigoku lied under my heel. Claudio watched in the background upon one knee, too exhausted to move after expending his energy upon his Destiny Overdrive.
Nigoku smirked as he noticed I was alone upon the battlefield, his gaze shifting up to me with a devious expression. "You think you're the only one here with Divinity? Now that you're alone, you have no help against my might!"
I glanced up at the sky as I began to sense energy from above, angels from Esoria crashing from the sky toward me like lightning with blinding slashes. Each of their slashes were blocked by my butterflies intercepting each of the Esorian Legion's strikes, the pressure of their attacks only intensifying.
I phased through the next attack, summoning Anduril into my hand and clashed with a few Angels before warping backwards. I leaped backwards, shifting my sword into twin daggers and launching them toward angel then warped toward her with a dropkick. The angel cried out in pain as she flew backwards into her allies, each of them crashing to the ground.
I summoned my daggers back into my hand then combined them into a Heavenly Spiral, the Falchion glowing brightly as I held it into the air. "Genesis Technique: Aero Spiral!"
The Esorian Legion charged toward me as I slashed in a circular motion, each of them grunting as a powerful tornado spawned around me to block the incoming attacks. The tornado dispersed into a gigantic wind explosion, the harsh winds clearing out an area within the forest, the sunlight shining brightly within the forest.
Nigoku rose to his feet, grunting softly as he began to notice his legion of angels began decreasing in numbers rapidly. He scoffed at me, summoning his Sword of Judecca within his hands then launched himself toward me with a battle roar, the blade of his sword releasing nether energy.
"You will fall!" Nigoku bellowed, launching an upper slice toward me.
I blocked his slash with my blade then stomped his blade into the ground, following with a roundhouse to knock him backwards. Shifting stances, I shifted Heavenly Spiral into a Dagrax Claymore, launching a wide arching slash toward him. Nigoku tried to guard the blow, but the force of my attack broke through his guard and knocked him backwards.
I stuck my blade into the ground, exhaling softly and transformed into my Judge Form, my chains emerging from my lower back then wrapped around the handle of my sword. "You severely underestimate me...I may be His Echo, but I am still the Lord of this land. You all claim I am without a Kingdom, but I never lost it, even before I was created."
"Exzodia has always belonged to Yuvah and nothing you say or do can erase that, it has already been claimed by Yesha and given dominion to me. For you to bring Fallen Angels into my land..." I said, chuckling lowly and exhaling slowly, smoke escaping from my mouth.
Nigoku watched me close, bracing himself for anything I had planned and began delegating his angels for attack. Before he could register the moment, I warped in front of him with a powerful straight kick to his stomach then latched onto him with my chain.
Pulling him toward me, I launched my other chain toward him that held my blade, Nigoku panicking as the threat of death loomed toward him. He blocked the blade with the scales upon his arms then broke out of my hold, launching himself toward me and landing a flush strike upon my jaw.
Nigoku's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed I hadn't budged, his feet leading him backwards in disbelief. "What..?"
I scoffed at Nigoku and held up my gauntlet, showing Sephora glowing brightly around the accessory, a divine aura pulsing around her which negated any damage. "You aren't even seeing 5% of what I can really do and what I was truly blessed with, and the truth is that you'll probably never even get to see 50% of my power."
"You honestly think this is a challenge? Allow me to show you a real angel! Come forth, Hisumi!" I called, summoning Madriax into my hand and holding it up in the air.
A pillar of light slammed down upon the Earth, everyone watching in surprise as the pillar of light began to reveal a Valkyria with the power of a Hero of Origin. The woman swiped away the light to fully reveal herself, her golden eyes shimmering brightly and her golden energy wings spreading out widely.
Genesis's Chosen looked at Nigoku, her right eye flashing silver indicating her continuing access to Cerebral's power. Hisumi awakened her Ten Passing Arcanian Gardens Stigmata upon her shoulder, her gaze shifting over toward me with a look of request.
"Those written in The Chronicles, those are my Angels and Hisumi is only at the start of the chopping block of power. She's known as the second strongest Hero of Origin, and the people of Exzodia sees her as a Pauline Figure, who is a descendant of my Lord's apostle Paul," I reintroduced, looking over at Nigoku and smirked at him.
Nigoku looked over at Hisumi and growled lowly, knowing how much damage she's done to his legacy. Without a second thought, he flew toward Hisumi with his fist loaded back for a heavy strike, only for him to phase straight through her body.
Her afterimage faded away, Hisumi appearing at his left with a strike to his jaw then a swarm of rabbits began erupting from below him, piling up around him to form a dome around him and obscuring his vision.
Hisumi rolled her shoulder and neck, holding up a hand seal. "Ten Passing Arcanian Gardens Technique: Ambushing Hares!"
Nigoku watched as the rabbits launched themselves toward him like missiles, forcing him upon the defensive as each one flew by him at high speeds. Each missed shot released a light explosion, making it even harder to move inside the dome of rabbits.
The darkness within the dome began to vanish as the light explosions grew larger, filling up the entire dome. Suddenly, a roar rumbled the earth, a massive light dragon erupting from the ground and sending Nigoku flying into the air.
Claudio's eyes widened as he noticed Hisumi's Beast flying in the air, his body unable to handle the divine energy the dragon released. "Who is that..? That can't be Aermyth..."
"Resh-El! Fly high!" Hisumi called out, transforming into her Valkyria Form and taking flight in the skies to face off against the Esorian Legion.
Resh-El swooped down to catch Hisumi then took flight with a powerful roar, spreading his wings out side as the Arcanian Gardens Sigil shone brightly upon his chest. He began fired light lasers at the Fallen Angels, the beams of light striking their wings and sending them falling to the ground.
One angel flew toward Resh-El with a Lightspeed slash, Resh-El splitting into a mirage to avoid the attack then Hisumi teleported toward the angel, sending him crashing to the ground with a flush kick to the jaw. She sensed a wave of angels flying toward her, her lips curling into a smirk.
"It's been a while since I've been able to really act... The Sacred Realm does give a lot of time for training," Hisumi said, shifting into her Speedster Mode then vanished at near invisible speeds.
The angels collided into one another ad Hisumi dodged their attack, a wave of invisible strikes landing upon them then a massive bolt of lightning struck down upon them. Hisumi landed at their side, catching one of their swords and shifting it into her katana.
Nigoku watched as Hisumi flourished her blade, growling lowly at her then flew toward her only to be intercepted by a beam from Resh-El's mouth. He grunted as he blocked the Holy Beam, the force of the energetic attack pushing him back a great ordeal.
"I refuse to lose to a lowly beast!" Nigoku roared, awakening his Lust Sigil then moved out of the way of the beam and struck Resh-El with a Lustful Palm.
Resh-El released a pulse of purifying aura then let out a triumphant roar, only growing stronger from Nigoku's attempt at corrupting him. Nigoku flew backwards in a bit of shock, someone being able to resist his Meta Lust Inducement to such a degree being unfathomable to him.
'Did he just grow stronger..? What am I dealing with..? Isn't Hisumi supposed to be dead..? How did she grow with more power..?' Nigoku asked mentally, looking at her dragon with confusion and a lost for words.
Resh-El let out another roar, preparing another attack only to pause in his movements from my call. He looked down at me, floating down to land on the ground and went on standby. Nigoku watched me closely, wondering what I was planning then looked around to see his angels were defeated.
"And I didn't have to lift a single finger that whole time. Are you starting to understand what you're dealing with, Mojisolan god? You can copy everything I can do, it's been given authority over by my Lord...but that mockery comes at a price," I said, picking up Madriax from the ground.
"Look at what you need to copy 1% of what I was blessed with. It took you over 20 generations to get you where? Above the shaft of the entire mountain? You still have a giant wall to climb over and I'm not even at the top myself! You want to lead the only people who remembers my Lord astray?" I continued, chuckling lightly with frustration and glared up at Nigoku.
"They are already going down that path, Noxius! It's over for you and your people! After Shiro stopped Lotus, after Ryder stopped Null Lotus, who did the world praise? Me! The one god who stepped up when yours stood silent!" Nigoku laughed, holding his arms out wide and spreading his wings with arrogance.
"The world is in need of a Savior, a NEW one! One that actually speaks to those upon the Earth, one that actually listens! One that actually answers the prayers of those who needs help! Not one that abandons His own just because they failed!" Nigoku yelled out, pausing as he heard Claudio laughing at him.
"Man, what a hypocrite! You false gods and your superiority complex...I've heard enough from you! You abandoned us not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES with me being the third and final time!" Claudio said, looking up at Nigoku and pointing up toward him.
"I trusted you to lead me into my Destiny, but I can see what it really means to be a Destiny Child in your eyes! We're nothing but tools! You watched our people die over and over, you left us to die like ritual sacrifices, you led Shiro deeper into his sins, made him into a false deity!" Claudio continued, his tattoos glowing as his blood began to rise.
Nigoku chuckled at Claudio, raising his brow and crossed his arms. "You trusted me just like your sister trusted you... Ye-Won Moji, your sister...you abandoned her didn't you and she still loves you enough to engage in a lie, Go-Goken..."
Claudio began to grin with frustration, his tattoos shimmering brightly, his veins growing upon his arms and neck. "If you do anything to my sister, I swear to God I will—"
"What? What could a lowly human do a god?! There's nothing you can do to stop me, your sister is already in my lie...She is a true Esomojisolan isn't she?~ I truly wonder what a human woman and a god would create," Nigoku said with a vile laugh, looking down at Claudio to see his hair shadowing his eyes.
I looked over at Claudio, feeling his anger boiling over then closed my eyes as I could feel the inevitable rising. Claudio, with the thoughts of what Nigoku would do to his younger sister, gripped his arms as he chuckled with anger filling his veins.
"Silent! As you should be, human! You're just as disappointing as your predecessors! Shiro losing his sister figure in Myrrh, Ryder losing Leilani...power doesn't come without its sacrifices!" Nigoku added, chuckling then grunted as Claudio released a viseral Tribal Howl.
Claudio's aura erupted around his body like destructive winds, his howls echoing throughout the forest like a wild beast. His Holy Ember began erupting into a Holy Fire, his love for his sister overriding his pride and his own love for women.
Laneret and Abylon watched from the distance, watching Claudio's aura glow like a bright star as he began awakening his Crest of Shiuji, his hair shifting into a cool gray with iridescent highlights. They witnessed as viseral love awakened Super Energy within someone, their bodies growing goosebumps watching someone like Claudio awaken it.
Nigoku looked down at Claudio in surprise, unable to believe Claudio had awakened a form surpassing Tengoku and Jigoku combined. He watched as red and silver lightning crackled around his body. 'What is this...? He should've been exhausted...just who is he..?'
Claudio opened his eyes, his left eye red while his right being silver. His looked at his hands and opened and closed them, his body feeling lighter and noticably more free. Looking more up, he could see the Holy Fire emitting from his chest, his silent calls through his Tribal Howls being answered.
"This human...blessed by the One you should submit to, will be the one to take you like a thought and bring you under submission to the Lord! Meet the New, Claudio Shiuji!" I said, holding my hand out toward Claudio and smirked at Nigoku.