Chapter III - The Apocalypse

Part I - Kilah: The Perfect Creation

After taking out the butler's of King Mitsui I leave to meet up with Krystal who had been taking out the guards from the entrance. I rush through the halls of the kingdom and arrive at the entrance to see Krystal breaking the last guard's neck. "Krystal, are you done with the guards?!" She nods as she tells me "Yea I just finished the last one.. Are you ready to join Nikke?!" I give a thumbs up as I finally remove my mask and cloak to reveal my face and black metallic and silk like upper body armor. Krystal does the same and we both dash through the hall that leads to the throne room. We reach the stairs leading to the next floor. Just as we start to go up we both feel an ominous aura. It brought dread to the room as it showed itself emerging through the shadows of the castle halls. "This is the 'Shadow man' Kaneoke warned us about before the invasion.. Right .. Krystal..?" The man laughed maniacally as he shouted out "Don't worry I'm not here for you I'm just leaving you a present HAHAHA!" another man emerges from the shadows wearing a black cloak and a witch doctor mask. He reveals a giant nichirin blade covered in sealing alchemy paper. I extend out my hand towards Krystal and say "Krystal stand back… You'll only slow me down.. This aura is dangerous.." I take a fighting stance as the man walks down the stairs unsheathing the blade. A shine sparkles on the reflection of the blade revealing its crimson palette. It can't be… "We… we thought you were dead… Ki-.. Kisan.." Krystal drops to her knees when she hears those words come out of my mouth. Kisan walks towards us as he takes off his mask revealing his face and with dead eyes and an expressionless face he tells us "Kisan? You must have the wrong person. I'm Satoru's butler. My name isn't Kisan, it's Ryu. Now you better not disappoint me." He unleashes his aura that glows a hue of red and his power rises high, going full power. "ONI!" I summon forth the black cloaked scythe on my right hand "Looks like I'm forced to go full power to then .. Raw Power : Awakened." every single muscle on my body stresses to its limits as a red aura with a hue of white cloaks around my body. "Oh? So you are pretty strong.. Don't disappoint me then." the man says as he readies his blade. We both await for one another to take the first move, our focus unwavering and the mastery of our aura is being put on display. Then Kisan grips his nichirin and makes the first move. I react just as quickly and rush towards him and attempt to strike him with a downward strike. THe sound of the scythe touching the stone floors was heard as Kisan quickly disappeared at an alarming speed . Then I feel his presence directly behind me as he lands a strike on my back. "You're gonna have to use more power than that to pierce through this armor.." I drop my hands to the floor and drop kick him at full force, launching him down the hall. Kisan gestures his hands and points two fingers upwards and draws blood from his scars into his hand creating a second blade. "Hehe you're pretty tough you know that?! I haven't been pushed this far in a while.. Lucifer's Heart : Demon blade." his power rises once again. I can't use this power yet I have only one shot at using it. Dammit I'm going to have to use more aura before I resort to my Limiter Breaker. I inhale and exhale "AKUMA" I summon another scythe on my right hand cloaked in a dark red aura. My left hand begins to tremble from the pain as the exertion of the aura is putting too much stress on my muscles. I Feel every vein on my body throb as I draw forth all the aura in my body " ABSOLUTE POWER : DIVINE EXECUTION " Kisan shouts and releases his power as he readies for a final clash " BLOOD MOON : CRIMSON LOTUS" we rush towards each other and the moment right before the strike I feel a small hand touch my back. I was teleported right before impact. I turn around to see only Cazo meditating on the floor beside a huge ritual circle. "Cazo?.. don't tell me you're with them as well." I begin to power up and release my aura once more "Raw Power : Awakened." I summoned forth the Oni Scythe once more as I prepared to strike him, but he was unflinching. "Sounds like you have a lot of questions. First, why don't we start with formalities? Yes.. let's start there.. you can call me Cazo Minamoto Butler or the first lord." He casually says as he continues to meditate. I was taken aback after what he had said. Butler of the first lord ?! Minamoto?! "Fine you may call me Kilah Minamoto butler of Ketsugi Minamoto." I relax and dispel my aura. I take a seat on the ground. "I know it sounds unbelievable that we are the first lord butler's, but it is as I say. We have no mortal bounds. Reana and I are Pure blooded Demon's. I guess you can call us allies." He continues on. "Right.. let's say that is all true, what are your intentions here, and why did Reana teleport me here?" I ask. "Straight to the point? Haha, well Kilah.. we're here because of prophecy.. it is said that the new Lord shall be awoken long after the time of the era of the Lords. A human not bound to the realities of good or evil shall overcome true despair and agony. Then and only then he shall rise to be the true Lord. Once the lord has awoken he will lead his followers through the fallout between the Demon's and Angel's. The Apocalypse between the Gates of Heaven and Hell." I was stone frozen from shock. "You're telling me, the end of the world is coming? I-is there anyway to win.. any of this ? the world is about to crumble and we're caught in the middle of it all?" Cazo shakes his head and says "No Kilah.. we're the beginning of it. Ketsugi is going to inherit the true power of the first. He will be the one to reign over the Demon's of hell to take our victory over the war." Cazo then suddenly turns his head to look into the far distance "Stand next to me. Reana is about to teleport Krystal." I hear a sharp whistle behind me as I see Reana and Krystal standing there. "Krystal.." I say staring at her. "K…Kilah, you… saw right..? It's him, he's truly still alive.." tears begin to run down her face "Krystal I know it's hard but there are other things that are of importance. Stay strong." I wanted for her tears to dry and for her concentration to focus. I then let her know about all the things that Cazo had mentioned from the Ritual, demons, the first lord, and the apocalypse. "Cazo, what about Nikke? Shouldn't he be teleported out ?" He stays completely silent. "Hey.. you're kidding right ?!" I glance over at Reana who tries to avoid eye contact. " Reana, you better teleport Nikke out of there! You better not be fucking with me. " I grab Reana by the collar of her robe and pick her up " Don't tell me you expect us to stay here and wait for Nikke to be the sacrifice for Ketsugi's ritual?! Aren't we on the same side!? Why should Nikke have to die for this ?! " Cazo sighs and says "Sorry Kilah, it's just something that has to be done. We cannot change fate. Your friend Nikke.. he has to be the one to unleash the despair and wrath sealed inside Ketsugi's heart" I softly let down Reana. "So what now .." I say after turning away in defeat. Cazo stands as he starts releasing his aura "it's time, everyone stand away from the ritual circle." Split seconds later a huge explosion of aura coming from the castle miles away could be heard and seen. Cazo starts gesturing hand signs and creates a cube above the ritual. He looks over to Reana and says "Now Reana! We only have one chance" she nods and vanishes. We all wait patiently trying not to let our nerves get the best of us. Then suddenly Reana appears inside the cube with Ketsugi in an enraged state and uncontrollable. His skin seems to be peeling showing a pale palette under. His eyes are starting to become a crimson red and his hair becoming white as snow. We all stare star struck at the amount of aura being put on display. Reana quickly vanished for a few seconds after reappearing behind us with a body. "I found him lying on the ground after recovering Ketsugi. It seems like whatever was controlling him completely disappeared from his body." Krystal and I turn to see Kisan lying down on the floor. Krystal runs towards him diving on to his body and hugging him with all her strength. He jerks awake and looks around completely confused at the sight of everyone there. "Good to see you again Kisan. It's been a while brother." I say with a shaky smile. Krystal starts to cry on his chest. "Yo-you lied… you said you would come back.. and waited and waited.. but you never came.." Krystal says as she cries a river of tears. Kisan finally speaks and says "I'm sorry Krystal.. if I'm being honest.. I wasn't planning to be alive right now .. heh.. but can someone tell me what's going on? Why does everyone look so different? Where's Kaneoke? Where's Nikke and Sam?" Krystal and I freeze at the question of the ones who've fallen. "Kisan… Sam and Kaneoke.. they.. they died during the Invasion one year ago.. and well about Nikke. He just died.." Kisan looks to the sky trying to hold back tears behind a mask of anger nearly on the verge of crying tears. "Ketsugi has taken the torch of his father and carried us this far. Right now he's in the process of becoming a Lord. We have to be on our toes. There will be a battle between the heavens and the hell." Kisan stands up as he wipes his face and says " I don't understand what the hell is going on yet and everything you're saying isn't making sense, but all I do know is I have a bunch of steam to blow off.. and the only thing that can satisfy me is by fighting." I extend my arm out towards Kisan and say " That's what I Like to hear brother. Alongside Ketsugi we'll fight for everyone who has passed for us to continue and fight for our future." He clasps my hand with his as he smiles with determination. Krystal walks next to us wiping her face from tears and say's "Right.. we've been training to avenge Kaneoke and Sam and all those who were before us."Our conversation and moral boost was cut short by a wave of aura coming from Cazo's cube. Cazo could be seen struggling trying to maintain the shape of the cube. After a few seconds it was completely shattered, showering everyone in an ungodly amount of aura. Everyone was astonished. "He did it .. Ketsugi did it. He became a lord.." I say as my words tremble at the sight of this new power. Everyone reacted and mimicked Cazo and Reana as they bowed down and kneel before the awakening of a new Lord. Ketsugi awakens and walks out of the circle. His hair has become white, his eyes are a red and purple hue, his skin pale and unscathed. He seems to be a bit older as well. He did it. He is now Lord Ketsugi Minamoto.

After a few moments Ketsugi had finally met Kisan once more. I stayed back and read Ketsugi's aura. His power was immeasurable. His power may even exceed that of Kaneoke. Before I could say anything, horns broke the silence in the sky as we saw a golden light bleed through the clouds. "The angels, they're here.. " I softly say under my breath. I glance over at Kisan and the others, they're all ready for what's to come. Ketsugi leaps down the cliff we're on. It's the leader of Tiara, he's on his way here. I glance over to Kisan once more and ask "You think you can keep up brother?" Kisan lets out a laugh and says "I might have been asleep for one year, but my body hasn't. I let my instincts do what they do best. Don't fall behind big Bro." I grin as I accept his challenge. Kisan powers up and says " Blood Manipulation: Two-Hundred percent Constant Blood Flux" His body tenses up as his veins become visible and his muscles expand to their limit. "I still need to recover some aura but since you went full power at the start it gave me some motivation. Raw Power: Full Strength." My muscles expand and aura pours from my body. "You re-" at that moment an unknown object flies right past us heading straight toward for Ketsugi. We sense Ketsugi's power rise as a crash and eruption of rocks fly. "KISAN! KILAH!" With no hesitation we leap into the air dashing straight towards the crater. Kisan and I are going at full speed dashing straight through the smoke screen created by the crash. I see my opponent's aura and drop kicking them at full strength. I glance behind me to see Ketsugi focused on the leader of Tiara and Kisan clashing against an angel with metal gauntlets. "Kilah whatever you might think of who your opponent is, it's not him anymore. Don't hold back. Kisan, I trust you to hold that angel back with no issue." Kisan and I nod in unison. I walk through the smoke prepared to fight. The smoke begins to clear after making it through the end of the crater around us. A shock goes through me as I finally understand what Ketsugi was saying. Before me was Kaneoke standing up after receiving a full power blow. What's this feeling.. My heart is starting to race a little faster. I need to keep composure. I take a deep breath and exhale. I strengthen my concentration and prepare to fight. "I don't know what you are, but hopefully you put up a good fight. That appearance it better not just be for show." It seems that his aura is still not flowing, maybe he's just testing me. Fine by me. I dash straight for him, striking at his head with my full strength. Kaneoke takes the blow full force and is unflinching. Kaneoke then strikes my chest stunning me for a second. He then kicks me barely being able to react and blocking last second. I make distance between us and begin to release more aura. "You're no joke.. Looks like I have to put in a little more effort.. Raw Power : Awakened." This form is a little more tolling than the last but it increases my speed and power. "Maybe now I can force you to use some power. Absolute Power: Divine Rush." I run towards Kaneoke momentarily moving at an immeasurable speed striking him with a flurry of blows. He starts to block the attacks, being forced to release some of his aura, but my momentum of speed is too great as I successfully land a rush of blows striking his chest,arms, head and abdomen. Five seconds pass of continuously striking him with no opening, but suddenly I feel a sensation of strong aura about to be released. I evade by dashing back and creating distance once more. "It looks like I'm finally pushing you to your full power." Kaneoke shrieks a horrible scream as he unleashes his aura into a white and blue hue while also expanding his muscle size. "That's what I like to see Kaneoke.. Finally a true battle just like back then." I feel the exhaustion start to creep on me. I ignore the pain and start to push a little harder. "I'll show you my limit. RAW POWER: AWAKENED BEYOND! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" I began to shout and scream trying to draw out as much power as I could. This is my last effort. I dash towards Kaneoke once more and begin another rush and flurry of blows, though this time Kaneoke matched me blow for blow. I struck his left arm, he struck mine, I struck his chest he struck mine. Three seconds have passed and we have been beating each other until one or the other gives. The strikes are endless. The pain from his blows are unbearable, but this pain.. It gives me motivation to push even farther. We both simultaneously pull back a punch and strike each other at full force launching only me back. I start to pant as I'm starting to run out of energy. I try to push out a little more energy but a sharp pain goes through my entire body. "Dammit there's no way this is my limit… I have to push more." my body didn't move an inch no matter how hard I pushed. My knees collapsed to the floor using every last amount of aura to move. I glance over at Kaneoke as he begins to grin at my failure. My heart begins to beat faster. " Let me tell you something.. Kaneoke." my body begins to move ever so slightly. "Everyone has pushed as much as they could to be alive here today. Even Nikke… those scars on your body they were made by him weren't they.. That deeply angers me that you think you can just look down on us. You're not Kaneoke.. You're just a cheap imitation." I stand up for one last time as my body begins to move on its own. "The real Kaneoke wouldn't have to look down on anyone.. He would fight at his full strength.. And push beyond his limit." I take one last stance and push one last time. "The real Kaneoke would have defeated me long ago. Now let me show you the true POWER OF GOING BEYOND YOUR LIMITS!!" I extend my legs and take a strong stance and begin charging up. The angel rushes towards me trying to stop me with one last strike to my chest. I take the hit full force, I smile at him and say "You're too late… LIMIT BREAAAK : FALSE GOD!" I feel a deep fire within push out to my body forming a small barrier of aura around me eventually shattering and overflowing all around me. My body feels light, I feel stronger than ever but my muscle size decreased. It's my first time achieving this form, I used all the aura infused within every single tattoo inscribed enchantments on my body. "This new form you see.. Is my masterpiece.. My life's work… my ultimate creation." I smile as I extend both my arms out and say "Akuma.. Oni…" My right hand cloaks in a black resembling the aura from the Oni Scythe, then my left hand cloaks in a red aura resembling the Akuma Scythe. I take a stance one more, I begin to jog in place to get a feel for my speed. I take a deep breath and exhale softly. "God Step" I dash at an ungodly speed momentarily disappearing and appearing in front of the angel. "Divine Execution: God Rush" I strike him with a flurry of blows. The angel was unable to block any attack, crushing every bone on impact, finally finishing the combo of blows with an elbow strike to the stomach. I take another breath and exhale " This final strike is for Nikke…" I pass all my aura into my right hand giving this last strike all of my power. A memory of Nikke and I drinking flashes on my mind. "May you finally rest my friend.. GODLY EXECUTION : PANDORA'S RETALIATION!" I uppercut his chest shattering and ripping a hole straight through his body shattering the sound barrier clearing any cloud at the direction of the impact. My arm was completely charred, the impact of my attack completely destroyed it. My body's exhaustion catches up as pain overtakes my body completely, shutting down, and unresponsive. I fell to the ground. I stare at the sky. "Nikke… Kaneoke… wherever you are I hope I was able to avenge you both… Ketsugi, Kisan… I leave the rest to you now… push… for… our.. Future."

Part II - Kisan: King of the Crimson Moon

My hand shakes after clashing against the angel with metal gauntlets. "Yo… angel or whatever you are… you're not getting anywhere close to my Boss." the angel retreats back and begins to float above the ground. "Human, you don't have the strength to kill me. I'll spare your life if you let me pass through" the angel summons a spear on his hand with two ends. I was angered. "Don't underestimate my strength. I've been itching to go full power." I begin to uncontrollably grin from excitement and anger. "Two - hundred and fifty Percent: Blood Constant Concentration" I Unleash my crimson blood sword as I ready my Lotus Stance. My muscles begin to feel the strain of the exertion I'm putting in them, but the feeling exhilarates my pressure and adrenaline. This feeling, I'm addicted to the terror of death. No, I'm addicted… to the battle with consequences of death. I desire a battle to push me to my utter limits. The angel floats down as readies his weapon. "Fine then, it's your graveyard. I praise you for your bravery and resolve. Angel Release : full power." The angel powers up as a wave of aura is set on display. Nearly blown away from the immense aura was enough for me to power up further. I try to release as much aura putting my life on for play. I slide in towards the angel and do a downward strike at full strength and speed. The angel to my surprise deflects it with ease and strikes my rib cage with a single kick nearly knocking me out of concentration. I recovered quickly and struck him with the handle of my blade and kicked him back a small distance. I take the Lotus stance once more and exhale my breath. "Crimson Blood : Crescent Moon" I do a horizontal strike with a dash step for range missing completely as the angel jumps to dodge it instantly. The angel instantly counters striking my arms and chest with the spear leaving me with deep cuts. I quickly seal the wounds with blood stitches trying to conserve as much blood as I can. If it takes more than this then I'll just have to push a little more. I stepped into the angel again and began to rush him with the infinite lotus. He deflects every single attack as if it were a dance between the spear and blades. The show of lights and sparks began to soar the faster we struck. I increased the pressure into my left arm to prepare for a downward strike once more "Crimson Blood : Skull Splitter." At the speed of light I slice through the middle in one sweep with my strike crushing the ground and splitting the spear in two.The angel grins and rapidly kicks my head and flies backward. My senses became shaky as the impact from the kick shook me momentarily. I took another breath and strengthened my concentration again. The angel swings his arm back readying for an attack. From this distance? I instinctively start side dashing to dodge whatever attack he launches. Time feels to slow down as I see a beam of light coming straight towards me. I can feel the warmth and heat coming closer, inch by inch. I need to go faster. My legs won't react in time… I need to use my blood manipulation to move my body faster than any nerve in my body. "Two-Hundred and Seventy Percent : Full Body control." Using this amount of concentration on my body will put immense pain on every single individual muscle in my body, but I don't have time to worry about that right now. I dodge the beam of heat by using the full extent of my power on my body to dash to the side leaving only a small burn on my shoulder. I need to be faster or else I'm dead. The beam missed but still burned me. The angel shouts out at me "Do you realize now? So you realize how outclassed you are ?" I begin to chuckle at his comment. "No, you are wrong… the fight is just starting to get interesting" a smile is starting to grow as the excitement of this death battle is just beginning to set in. "Fine then. Four-Hundred Percent Output : Heat Shattering Volley" he swings his arms back. I satchel my nichirin knowing full well I'll have to evade every single attack with no drawbacks. He starts to perform multiple attacks of beams with no less than split seconds to react. I dash to the side, slide under, vault my body over, and mid air dodge every single beam. Time began to slow down once more as I saw the perfect opening. His gauntlets seem to be overheating as he lets out the steam. I draw my blade and with a single step I dash at full speed towards the angel throwing a straight lunge to his chest, but to my surprise he was ready for the strike, catching my blade. In that same instance I felt a sharp sensation on my arm. I looked down to see my arm begin to come apart as the angel was holding the spear in his other hand. In the very instant he caught my strike he sliced through my arm. "What did I tell you, human… you're no match for me. Run now I'll spare yo-" I strike his head with a high kick stunning him for a split second as I retrieve my blade from his grip. I dash back and create a large distance between us so I can recover some of my breath and seal my wound. I put my palm over my wound and forced every fiber and blood cell to stress my wound shut. I took deep breaths as I exhausted a large amount of aura to seal my wound. This fight is going to be nearly impossible. "Don't you worry about me. You just helped me, with one arm I can push my body's speed faster without the extra limb to weigh me down." My smile turns into a giant grin full of excitement. I'm starting to feel a small warmth inside my body pulsating throughout each and individual nerve. The angel's face begins to be full of anger as he swings his arms back again to let out another flurry of heat beams. I dodge every single strike with no issue. My concentration is at peak performance. My body is overclocked. I'm at maximum speed. Another opening reveals itself as his gauntlets overheat. I dash towards him again, but this time I stop mid air only a few feet away from the angel. I stare him down and say "Three-Hundred percent" . I platform a pool of blood in mid air and I lunge straight at the angel, slicing in a "X" motion landing on the ground, and sliding through the rubble on the ground. "Crimson Cross" I release my aura as a splat of blood can be heard gushing out of the angel. "I told you not to underestimate me.. I might be human but I'm the strongest you've ever seen." I look behind me while resting my nichirin blade on my shoulder. The angel glared back at me as he cauterized the giant "X" shaped wound on his rib cage. I click my tongue and say "Damn, you're tougher than I thought, angel. I guess it wasn't strong enough to cleave straight through. Well then shall we continue..?" the angel begins to laugh "Tell me human what is your name. You have my respect enough to consider you as a threat." I stare back at him unmoving with a cold face. "Kisan Minamoto, butler of the new Lord Ketsugi Minamoto." He scoffs and lets out a small chuckle "Kisan, I shall remember it well. You may call me Xander, Advocate of God." Xander gently glides to the ground as he begins to release a great amount of aura. "Now then Kisan, I shall reward you for your efforts and fight you with everything I have.. " he takes a stance and begins to overflow with aura, momentarily shaking the ground and lifting all loose stones and rubble with his pure aura. " I WILL SHOW YOU THE POWER OF A TRUE ANGEL! ANGEL RELEASE: GOD'S ADVOCATE" He began to levitate as held his arms out a flash of gold light shun through some clouds bathing him in the golden beam. His aura began to clear as he gently dropped to the ground revealing a white halo above his head with golden patterns on his skin going throughout his body. The gauntlets he once had were no longer there but merged with his arms revealing a golden and pale pattern seeming like fully mechanical arms. With no hesitation I go full strength, I start to dash towards him leaping at full strength. Before fear could set in I had to attack. "Crimson Blood : Skull splitter" I attack at full speed. Xander dodges in one swift movement. Time begins to slow. "Kis…" huh.. who's calling my name "Kisan.." is that Krystal..? "Kisann..! Kisan..!" of course it is, I could never mistake her beautiful voice "Promise me.. promise… you'll come back.." why do I have to remember that now. Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted as a blunt strike hits my chest piercing through completely. Pain struck every single nerve in my body as I felt my own heart getting crushed. The intense pain was enough to kill me already.. I slowly fall to the ground as my body starts to feel cold and numb.. I heard my body drop to the ground, but I could no longer feel anything.. My ears rang loud then completely went silent.. My vision blurred into complete darkness.. I was left with thoughts. "Kisan, would you ever retire from battle to stay with someone you loved to avoid danger?"... "Of course, you wouldn't Kisan, your family needs you… I need you.." I felt a flame run through my body. My vision began to return. I slowly start to lift my body off the ground. My ears pop as the sounds of the outside world start to fill my head once more. A dark red aura begins to surround me. I look up to see Xander staring down at me in awe. " I'll kill anyone who dares touch my family.. Even in death I shall protect them.. Lucifer's Heart : Reanimation." a new heart began to form in my chest. A fresh warm aura went through my entire body. My body hungered for a fight. I gesture with two fingers pointing up and release some of my aura "Lucifer's Blood : Crimson Moon" . I draw blood into the tips of my fingers and create a small orb of blood. The orb becomes a dark crimson color and levitates around my shoulder. It looks alive as it pulsates every few seconds. I've never used an ability like this but it naturally came to mind. All I know is that I trust this orb will be my key to victory. Xander vanishes and reappears in front of me and throws a straight jab to my head which I was easily able to read. I duck down in an instant, draw the nichirin blade and do a reverse skull splitter, but Xander quickly responds with an equally powered strike as my blade and his mechanical arm clashed creating sparks between the friction of air and metal. We stared at each other down, neither of us flinching. The clash started to absorb the surrounding aura creating a vacuum which eventually exploded and launched both of us away. This was not even a minor inconvenience. We quickly started side dashing, none of us giving up a meter of distance to the other. We started to reach speeds where the only thing conceivable was each other. He finally leaps into the air and flies. I quickly follow using all my strength and momentum to keep close. He performs another volley of beams. With no platform around me to bounce off of, I was doomed to lose here. At that moment the orb reacted and made a path of blood puddles in mid air. I leap on each one as new ones are formed. Gracefully I leaped around each beam of heat until I reached Xander. I reach eye level with Xander, but at that exact moment he becomes distracted as Kilah's aura shatters and quickly catches the attention of everyone fighting. That split second I used to my full advantage, I sent all my aura into my legs and watched all the platforms of blood fill all the air around him. The Crimson blood fused with my blade and then began my attack. He puts his arms up to guard but it was too late. I dashed through him at full speed doing an individual strike bouncing off a platform and back towards him. I repeated it going faster and faster at each lunge. Once, twice, four times, eight times, ten times. I prepared all of my aura for one last strike. "Four-Hundred Percent.." I lunge with all that I have left, Xander tries to match the strike with a hit of his own, but when he comes to the point of impact my blade phases through his punch landing slicing across his chest. I land on the floor and stare at him as strings of blood surround him. "My final technique… Post Mortem: Threads of death." The strings of blood all collide with his body piercing him at every open wound making them deeper. My body has become unresponsive as I stood there unable to move an inch. I stared at Xander as he broke the thread using heat to surround his body which also sealed his wounds in an instant. I lift my nichirin blade once more as my hands shake, barely being able to lift it off my shoulder. Every muscle in my body is screaming in agony. My bones are on the verge of fracture. My body is starting to overheat as I'm drenched in a cold sweat. Xander gently flies down as he releases his form and reverts back to how he was before. He slowly walks to me. My breath becomes heavier when I try to lift any limb to move forward. My body completely refuses. "I commend you Kisan. You put up a good fight. I'm done here today. You made me expend more aura than I expected. You weren't my target, but I'm satisfied. I got to finally see that man over there break through his limits and unleashed it in that powerful form. You.. you also peaked my interest. Your potential is great as well." He gets close to me and I strike him one last time with a pitiful attack. He catches my blade with ease. He chuckles and says " Next time I'll hunt you and your family and kill you all. So train Kisan. Show me your true potential and determination, but right now you need to recover and rest." He strikes my arm with a chop dislocating it. He picks me up and then throws me against the ground sending a shock through my whole body. I stare at the sky watching Xander fly up and away towards a different location. My vision blurs. My body aches. I take one last breath as everything fades to black.

Part III - Ketsugi Minamoto : The Lord vs. Chaos

Kisan and Kilah arrive taking care of the other two who tried to attack me. Ketsugi T. pulls himself out of the ground laughing maniacally. I scoff at him and say "Hurry and stand you mongrel, It's time for you to receive your proper judgment delivered on by my own hands." I start to release my aura and take a stance and ready myself for the fight. Ketsugi T. lunges straight for me trying to strike me with his sword. Right before he reaches me I activate gravity around me making him collapse to the ground. I focus my aura on my right hand, swing it back and say "Gravity Release : Plummet" while I strike him on his head. The moment my hand touched his head I felt something like magnetism come from his body. When the gravity strike struck it did severely less on impact then when it did on Satoru. I was shocked, I quickly stepped away to avoid any danger. Ketsugi T. stands with little to no injury. "It's interesting to finally see you reach the status of Lord. Out of all Ketsugi you're the only one who was destined to become the new Lord.. It's an honor to be the one who kills you HAHA!". He dashes straight towards me again, I point downwards and say " Gravity Release : Lord's Presence" He falls straight to the ground. "Don't you dare speak to me that way mongrel. There is only one of me. You're a pitiful fake who deserves nothing more than death." I start to apply more weight of gravity trying to crush him onto the ground. Though the feeling for magnetism felt even greater. It felt like my aura was getting sapped away. He began to slowly rise from the ground. It seemed like gravity had less and less effect on him. He slowly walked towards me with a grin that showed his chaotic blood-lust. He lunges at me with the black coated saber he carried. I clasped it in between my hands as I had no time to react to the sudden change of speed from his attack. I soon realized that my flesh was being consumed by the black that coated the blade . He laughed and laughed as my realization was made clear. Anger filled my mind, heart and soul. I swayed the direction of the blade to cut right through only a scratch of my rib. I used the momentum that carried on to power my strike to his head pushing straight through and onto the ground. His head slammed straight to the ground. I took this moment to evade back and recover. I stared at my palms, they were nearly black and oozing blood from the many tiny wounds on my hand. My body started to grow exhausted as my aura has been strained for some odd reason. No, this bastard is the cause of it. He must be using some sort of ability to drain my aura. Damn, I have to end this quickly or he might just kill me by draining me from all my aura. Ketsugi T. stands up as he wipes the blood from his forehead. He doesn't give me a chance to recover, he begins his barrage of attacks with his blade again. I try to dodge as many as I can, but no matter how much I try to, I eventually get scratched by the blade. And not only does it hurt, it burns my flesh around the wound leaving it to continue bleeding. My heart is beginning to pump faster as my rage continues to build and build. The wounds only fuel the bottomless pit of fire that my rage brews. "Fine, if I can't use aura against you I'll just have to rip you to shreds with my own hands, you filthy defect." I rush him with a flurry of attacks using aura to only increase the potency of attacks. He would try to strike me but I would stop him right before he was able to even attempt to start an attack. After a few seconds of attacking recklessly I started to feel sluggish. Am I losing too much blood? Or was I using too much aura to fight? I need a new strategy, this isn't helping or doing too much to him. I need to use my ability in a different way. How? I need to catch him off guard with something. Well, I control gravity at my will don't I?.. but he'll sense the activation of my ability once I land it on him so he'll just absorb it and ignore most of the damage. So I just need to conceal it and delay the activation somehow. My thoughts are quickly interrupted when a rise in power from another battle caught my intention. I scoff as I instantly knew that it was Kilah breaking his limits. "Haha right… Thank you Kilah.. you're both fighting your hardest to win for our family. I guess I'll put everything on the line as well." I strike Ketsugi T. on the chest with a small flare of aura on the face of my fist. He launches me back with a kick. "Haha is that really all you're capable of? Or have I drained you from all your blood and aura already?" Ketsugi T. says and then begins to dash towards me with an overhand blade strike. Great… I can still sense it.. I can sense the aura on his chest.. "Gravity Delay : Rise." He floats up in the air. I take a a split second moment to catch my breath and then release all my anger into a flurry of punches while he still floats screaming out at the top of my lungs "RAAAAAAAHHHH" making sure I apply a small application of aura needed for the activation. This is my only chance and the only chance I'll receive. I land one last blow before he touches the ground again and I evade back to create space. Ketsugi T. grabs his face as he smiles "That's all ? You really took the effort of that one last move to what? Punch me ? GGAHHHAAHA! Don't be such a fool Ketsugi." I turn away from him and release one last move "Gravity Delay : Plummet Barrage" I hear the screech of gravity as it all crashes in a barrage of directed blows striking him to the ground. I need to escape now. I was too careless and let myself get too wounded. I trip forward because my legs gave out on me. Reana appears in front of me catching me before I hit the ground. "I already teleported the others out, you don't have to worry about them. We relocated back to the castle since there's no sign of anyone else there. The only thing that seemed out of place was a plant sprouting at the center." She gets a grip around my arm and teleports me to the castle. I signal her to let me down. "Reana, what's your limitation to your ability? Are you able to teleport an entire building or piece of land ?" She nods to my question. "Yes, I am able to. The only restriction is that it'll take a large amount of my aura to do so. I'll basically be a sitting duck after using this limit of my ability." I stand up and offer my hand to her " Good, get ready to do it on my signal." I clash my fist together and release my aura around the perimeter of the castle "I'm going to imbue gravity on the castle. Teleport it once it's off the ground. Gravity Release : Levitation." The castle and the ground it's attached to begins to rise off the ground. I put on as much aura as I can into this ability. With this ability I can imbue an object with gravity that defies that of this world. The aura used becomes its own. I feel a shock wave of aura start behind me as Reana uses her ability. This is the first time I sensed her aura. Everything teleports into the middle of the ocean. Floating in the sky above the water. Reana falls over to the ground. I walk towards her and stare her down. "Now, tell me should I execute you now or do you have any other use for me." I grab her by the neck and pick her up off the ground. She stares into my eyes showing that she is prepared for death. "You.. you let Nikke die out there. You.. knew he was no match for that monster. Still… you sat there and watched… YOU WATCHED HIM FIGHT AN UNWINNABLE FIGHT… YOU'RE HERE TO SERVE ME ?! BULLSHIT! YOU WATCHED AS ONE OF MY FAMILY PUT HIS SOUL ON THE LINE FOR US.. FOR ME!" I clench my grip tighter. "Reana, you owe me your life. Not as a butler of the one before me but as a slave.. You'll have to earn my acknowledgement of a living being. You're less than scum." I throw her on the floor and she stands and kneels before me "Yes Lord. I devote everything to you." I look over to where the wall is and call out "Cazo, I know you're standing there too." He walks out and kneels to me as well. "Lord, my apologies. I did not mean to eavesdrop. I shall devote myself to you as well. I'll carry out any orders you give me." I put my hand on his shoulder, he looks up and stares at me. "Then as Lord, I order you to jump off the edge and kill yourself." With no hesitation he stands on the edge and jumps off. I activate my aura "Gravity delay: Rise." He rises from the edge of the floating island , I grab his arm and throw him onto the floor. "Reana, find me Lady Mitsui. She's still in this castle. I left her alive when we raided it, she should still be unconscious somewhere around the castle." Reana bows and retreats into the castle. "Cazo, tell me more about this prophecy. Also I want to know more about what I can do as a Lord. The way I am now, is nowhere near the strength the other Ketsugi is at, I was barely able to manage the strength to subdue him and escape." Cazo nods and begins to explain the prophecy. "Lord, now that you have risen, the future of the prophecy is inevitable. The war between the gates of the other realms will clash for ten years. This means that the armies of the heaven's will search for you without rest and try to kill you. For now we are safe, but as of right now you need to construct your own army as the King himself will not help in this endeavor." I stare at him from a side angle view. "Then what am I supposed to do? How does he expect me to win this war without any help?" Cazo then continues to explain "Lord, the King cannot interfere with mortal controversy. He can only assist by giving you the tools needed. He gave you demonic powers to create your own army. Though the process is not the best, I suggest we form allies with other clans from the other kingdoms in this country. We have the wealth and power to form a proper relationship with other Kingdoms now that we have the wealth and power from the former King Mitsui. We actually can practice one part of your abilities right now. The demonic ability to create a minion from creatures." This piqued my interest and I gave my full attention. "Go on" I say as I just watched. He runs out to the nearby grass and grabs something and walks back to me. He presents a frog and hands it to me "With your blood I want you to copy and make this sign on the frog's back" I pull my sleeves back and see that the cuts I had before completely healed and it shook me. This must be one of my abilities. I cut my wrist and drew blood from it. I dab my finger on my wrist and copy what seems to be some summon circle type of image. The frog then squeals and jumps to the ground. It begins to hurl back and forth then becomes bigger and bigger. The frog forms a humanoid shape and looks up and stares at himself. He ribbits a couple times and speaks "Huh… huh? HUUUH? I'm thinking?? WAAAGG!? I CAN SPEEK? hOw?" He then meets my eyes and instantly is taken aback. He kneels to me and says "LORD, THENK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE POWER TO THINK AND TALK. GIVE ME ORDERS." I present my hand before him "Do you have a name, fellow frog." He looks up and takes my hand and stands "NO LORDSHEP YOU MAY GIVE ME NAME." I grin and say "You shall be Tenshi. Tenshi Minamoto." He smiles profoundly and seems to be extremely elated at the idea of that. "THENK YOH LORD!!" I chuckle and tell him " You can call me Ketsugi. We are family here. You can be dismissed. Go and help Krystal, she is the nice lady taking care of two other of your family members." He nods and bows and skips away. I look back towards Cazo and ask him "What do you think, Cazo? Was the magic successful?" He stares at me astonished by me for some reason. He replies "Yes my lord.. I was just amazed that you were able to do it on your first attempt. It took the past lord a few months to perfect this demonic ability." My attention gets interrupted by the teleportation of Reana in front of me. She lays lady Mitsui on the ground. "Reana, you are dismissed. Now Cazo, how does my demon blood affect humans?" He clears his throat and says "Right… Lord if successful, the human will become a Demi-human. Meaning, they will have the regeneration power, strength, speed, and aura output increased. They wouldn't be as strong as a full fledged one like I or Reana, but definitely stronger than a human. In the circumstance that it does fail… the host's body will eruption into an unrecognizable amalgamation of Demon blood and flesh. Their mind would run berserk and would begin to kill any living thing around them." I then slit my finger tip drawing blood. I bring my finger close to Lady Mitsui's face. Suddenly she shakes wide awake. I withdraw my hand and lay her down gently.