31.) Why I Despise You!

Within mere moments of Death's revival, a signal was sent out for all to sense and feel. The pressure of Death was back amongst the Omniverse. Balance had seemed to shift again, and the needle that measures the standings has returned to the center. A grand wave of new schemes arise with everyone and everything making a move as a response. Things were going to be different from that point on. Starting with the mentions of those who dipped in malice, making a move within the Embodiment Clan. 

Jollister: "Ha! Now, would you look at that. My goddamn cousin returned to us mayne. Things are about to get interesting. You two muthafuckas done or what? I'm trying to go see my cousin before our sense of morals turns us against one another." 

Jabreeze: "Yeah. He's just about done massacring these pieces of trash. I hate the fact that this is what they sent to greet us."

Jollister: "Hmm. His sadistic side sickens me. Just an absolute  fucking mess mayne. But I'll admit… I was hoping the King, Li'Ricio would show himself. I wanted to destroy that ridiculous ability of his. My body is death itself. His blood can't control me-"

Jabreeze: "Sir Jollister… what's wrong?"

Jollister: "Seems I might get my wish mayne. That son of bitch left the main palace and is on his way. Hup! *FWIP* *VWIMP* "I'll be right back! Get his ass to the center of this place and get the fucking study mayne! I'm ready to go!"

Jabreeze: "R-Right. See you soon."

Jollister entered the portal he sliced open and went to the location of Li'Ricio. Jollister was 6'5, same height as Shiishii and had light brown skin. His hair was silver and in dreadlocks. He wore a red jacket with yellow flames at the bottom with baggy Japanese style kung-fu pants to match. He wore red kung-fu shoes with a yellow headband. Jabreeze on the other hand was 6 foot tall and quite built. His skin was pale and his hair was a darkened shade of blue and in a messy, spiked up style. He wore traditional Annihilascia garbs from his hometown, a black long coat with royal paldrons of red metal and gold cloth. His undershirt was a blood red and he wore black combat pants. His gauntlets and gleaves match the paldrons he wore on his shoulders. On his left arm ran an odd pattern of four different colors. The symbols emitted a foreign energy far more ominous than his own.

Jabreeze: "Ayo SLITH!? Quit playing around with the enemy and finish them. Jollister's in a rush. Let's head to the center!"

Slith: "Hm? (Well guess this'll have to end here.) *SNAP* Alright. Let's go then!"

Slith had just snapped the neck of the last Embodiment soldier that had come to stop their infiltration of the temple. Before him… were more than 30 severed heads sitting on the floor. As well as the rest of their mutilated body parts that were either torn to ribbons or stuck through the torso they were once attached to in an attempt to create art. The scene was one out of horror yet… Slith looked as peaceful as a sleeping baby after feeding. His malice was far greater than both Jollister and Jabreeze. He was a man who lacked morals and had little care for life. A true snake through and through. 

Jabreeze: "The bastard really is a sadist. I hate looking at these scenes."

Slith: "Ah ssshut your asss up Jabreeze, let's just get thiss done sso Jollister doesn't come back threatening to eat our soulss."

Jabreeze: "Hmmph right. I doubt his time with King Li'Ricio will be long. So we had better be done with this before he comes back. First… let me destroy the useless meat lying around. Season Festival, SUMMER: Supernova!"

A quick burst of overwhelming heat and flames hit the severed bodies on the floor and completely incinerated them. Nothing but ash to be left behind.

Slith: "Hmph. Alright then let'sss go get thiss sstudy. So I can complete my power sset. Hehehehahahaaa!"

Jabreeze: (Crazy ass snake. I always wonder why the boss made me partner with this psychopath.)

Slith and Jabreeze dash through the temple at high speeds. Smashing through all the remaining traps and guardians until they hit the center where the study was being kept. As Curti once said, this study is of high class and can manipulate almost anything its essence comes in contact with. 

Slith: "We're almost there-"

Jabreeze: "STOP!... We're actually here already." 

Slith: "Hohoooooo? He'sss quite big."

Before them stood a 15 meter embodinite clay warrior. Embodinite is said to be equal to wartanium on durability and use factors. A highly dense warrior stood before them who was of that same caliber. He wielded a massive great sword and a shield to boot. The warrior wasn't as bulky as one would think. It was more slim built and built for speed. And with the material it's made of. Its durability should be more than enough to handle speeds well beyond light.

Slith: "I ssay he'll be a little bit of a challenge. With my Mental Zenchi I can ssee it's sstat chart… it's ssspeed is actually near our own. All sstats are that of a 20, he'sss well rounded and even hass the Embodiment Clan'sss sstat boostss."

Jabreeze: "Hmmph. Well I'll tell you right now… don't give a rat's ass about your ego and self satisfaction. WE'RE killing this thing and we're going to make it quick."

Slith: "Tch! Fine Jabreeze. We'll knock thiss out your way, now lead on!"

Jabreeze: "Hmph! Season Festival, WINTER: Auroral Blight!!!"

A rapid flash of blue light streamed across the room as the Guardian began to flicker off the same light. But that had seemed to be it. The guardian was perfectly fine after being struck.

Slith: "Just what the hell wass that ssupposed to do?"

Jabreeze: "Attack 'em or block 'em and you'll find out."

Slith: "Hmm. Alright then. Let's give it a go, afterall… he's coming straight at me."

The guardian swung it's mighty sword down on slith at full force. Slith was able to catch the blade of the sword with ease. Right when he makes contact… the sword and right arm of the guardian was completely frozen solid.

Slith: "Well I'll be… thiss iss amazing Jabreeze. I don't even have the power of ice yet he froze from my touch. What'ss the ssecret."

Jabreeze: "Easy. When he was touched by the light, he was imbued with billions of tiny, atom sized ice particles. They absorbed its essence and used it to freeze 'em when friction of any kind is made. Or even contact… then the chain reaction goes off." *Grin*

Just then Jabreeze touched the guardian's back and caused the entire torso and neck to freeze over. 

Slith: "Now that'ss a cold front forreal. Heh! I'll ssmash the legss with… Anaconda Crush!!!"

A massive snake shoots out from within Slith's left arm. It quickly wraps around the legs of the guardian and begins to squeeze with a tremendous pressure. First cracks began to show then those turned to chips of the body coming off. Right as the bend to the frame began, the legs froze completely then broke with ease from the pressure of the wrap from the snake.

Jabreeze.: "I'll finish it. With a mighty leg drop! Season Festival, SUMMER: Dragon's Hook!!!"

A massive claw of flames came down following Jabreeze's kick to the guardian. With the help of the claw… the guardian was broken into pieces. Being frozen to a temperature more than 200 degrees below zero, and then immediately heated to more than 20,000 degrees celsius. That process caused its natural material to dry out and rust, become brittle in every aspect and couldn't hold the form out any longer. The heat was so great that even the walls around them began to melt during the attack. 

Slith: "That wass quite the combo attack you performed. That sseasonal type sstudy of yourss iss excellent and very handy."

Jabreeze: "Yeah… but that thing's truly immortal. He'll come back so long as this temple still holds the study. So go get it and we won't have to deal with the pest. He'll get stronger each time."

Slith: "Well damn Jabreeze. You've done your research indeed… I'll go grab the darn thing right now then."

Jabreeze: "Good, but be careful. There's another trap somewhere in this room."

Slith: "I've already dominated this area. It's my domain now. Now let me get my prize!"

Slith rushes to the center of the room where a Treasure Study lay waiting. The treasure itself was a rope type of necklace, made with the finest gold possible. The pendant for the necklace would simply be what most fits the user. For Slith… it became a serpent.

Slith: "Seems as though it's bound itself to me finally. Manipulation… is mine. I'll dominate it to make this easier to master and tame."

Jabreeze: "It's a Super Rare so I'd expect it not to be too hard to master. But now that we've gotten it… let's go get Jollister and head to that battlefield."

Slith: "Sssure thing Jabreeze. Let'ss hustle over there. (I'll test out my new study on those pieces of trash when we make contact.)" *Fwip*

Jabreeze: "Hmm." *FWIP*

The two of them leave the crumbling temple as it collapses in on itself with is treasure no longer present. It's gone, so there's no reason for the temple to uphold itself any longer. While the mysterious trio regroup, the likes of Shiishii and Haydes began their final battle in Universe 9.

Shiishii: "Look here Haydes. I have a job that must always be done. I can never just sit back and let these beings run rampant. It'd tear the likes of this omniverse apart. You not liking me for it… isn't my damn problem, it's just a fucking job!"

Haydes: "I don't give a damn! I begged you to let Jollister win so you could be normal and only have to worry about Death duties if he died. But you refused and went as far as to actually win the damn match."

Shiishii: "That did happen. But my position as Death hasn't affected you in the slightest. You're just being a brat."

Haydes: "It's obvious you're not getting it brother. Doesn't matter if you're affecting me or not. You literally control the fates of countless lives. People living the only way they see is just and you'd go out of your way to kill them if that way of life instills too much holiness or malice? You kill them all because they go against your moral coding."

Shiishii: "And so what?"

Haydes: "Huh!?"

Shiishii: "You think I give a damn Haydes? Those people bring it upon themselves and end up facing MY music. They all have gone to extremes just to go out of their way to kill someone polar opposite to themselves, it's my job to eliminate scum like that."

Haydes: "Tch! You…. Bastard. I guess I'll truly have to destroy you here. I just can't stand by and let you and Gaia keep killing people for being who they are." *FWIP*

Shiishii: "Yeah… guess I'll have to show you how trivial… you and this situation is." *PEW*

The two rush in head on. Shii summons his Death scythe while Haydes brings out his Purgatory War Sword.

Shiishii: "What? (Where in the omniverse did he get THAT!?)"

Haydes: *FWITINNG* "Surprised? Hmmph… I had to take a souvenir from home. Father had no qualms since I can control the sword pretty damn well."

Shiishii: "Then let's see just how well you can control the Black, flaming sword. *Fwi* *Fwi* *FWIP* Come at me!"

Haydes: "Haaa!" *Fwi* *Fwoop* ... *WOOSH*

Haydes rushes in on Shiishii and attempts to instantly end the battle with a vertical slash aimed at Shii's center. Shii blocks the attack head on, then takes the end of the scythe and swings it at Haydes' head. Haydes quickly ducks down and goes for a quick horizontal slash at Shii's legs. Shii jumps and shoots out a massive ball of Death particles. "Deadly Sphere!!!" yells Shii while he floats above Haydes.

Haydes: "Tch! Son of a bitch. *FWIP* War Fist!" 

A massive fist coated in reinforced Wartanium armor was summoned by Haydes. It smashes straight through the Massive sphere and heads for Shiishii.

Shiishii: "Hrrm! Death Touch!!!"

A single black finger was summoned and the attack was instantly decimated by a touch. 

Haydes: "Damn. Still using that old Death touch huh?"

Shiishii: "Of course. It was the perfect counter to your attack."

Haydes: "Hrm… Then let's see you handle this. Elemental + Weaponry: Black War Wave!"

Shiishii: "Child's play brother. Elemental + Weaponry: Deadly Cancel!"

Shii's singular wave canceled out all the oncoming waves and caused a massive explosion on the battlefield. As Haydes is blinded and can't see Shii's location anymore… Shii circles behind him and drop kicks Haydes atop his right shoulder. An attempt to get him to drop the Black Blade. 

Haydes: "Gah!... You bitch!" *FWIP* *FWIP* *TINNNG*

Shii: "Hmph. You've actually gotten far stronger than before, this'll be eventful indeed. But you'll lose like any other time."

Haydes: "Tch-… Hrrmmm!!"

MorZick: "Quite fascinating to see those two do all this and all they're doing is sizing each other up."

Gaia: "I agree. The real battle will start soon enough. They just want advantages over each other."

Zigorim: "… I see."

Zenki: "Hmm… I've grown a bit impatient honestly. I want to see what Shii can do now."

Zo'Elaniece: "Seems like you're going to get your chance."

Zenki: "Hmm…."

Haydes and Shii continued trading blows one after the other. Shii swings his scythe at Haydes' head. Haydes ducks, but is then met by Shii's knee strike. Haydes throws his blade up and blocks the blow with an x-guard. Haydes them attempts to trip Shii, who them decides to jump higher up. Haydes follows right behind and immediately grabs his blade then slams it down atop Shii. 

Shii: "What an annoying tactic, Distractions… and quick burst attacks. I'll show you my new tricks in response. Split: White Overload!"

Haydes: (Did he just… I can sense Angelos and not Shii. What the hell?)

Shiishii's body turned completely white, he had taken in every aspect of Angelos and even gained a large boost in speed. 

Shiishii: "This is my self split transformation brotha. I'll show you exactly what it is I can do." *PEW*

Haydes: "Huh!? He left his scythe behind? Then where-"

Shiishii: "Hrm!" *SMASH*

Haydea: "Damn! Split: Hellish Overload!"

Haydes' body begins to shine brightly. A red light was emitted and Haydes, as well as Shii rushed in with boosted and amped speeds. Shii throws 10 rapid jabs as they made contact. Haydes dodges each one and throws a spinning, right hook kick at Shii's face. Shii dodges at the last second while throwing his own counter jab at the same time. It hits Haydes in the back as he's turning around, making him slightly flinch and back away four feet. 

Haydes: "Ngh!"

Shii moves forward and throws a quick stepping shin kick with his left leg. Haydes uses a slight high knee to block with his right, then throws a left jab. Shii blocks it with his right arm then strikes Haydes' bicep with a serpent strike. Haydes holds strong and strikes Shii's left trap with a quick right handed chop. Haydes tries to follow up with a flurry of wing chun style rapid jabs. Shii's quick to catch on and counters each jab with his own flurry. Haydes ends it with a stretched out, fully committed jab to Shii's face. Shii leans back and intercepts the strike with a x-block, while also striking Haydes' left shin with a heavy toe kick.

Haydes: "Gah! You son of a-"

*SMASH* Haydes is sent flying back with a heavy right handed palm strike to his chest. Shii gathers himself back up and regains his composure. 

Shiishii: "You've gotten much better at your hand to hand combat. Your improvement-birthright is also quite the bother."

Haydes: "Hmph! I've had enough of sizing you up. I've seen what I needed to see. With this I'll make sure to crush you and take your essence. Death is nothing but a plague to me. I've had buddies of mine killed in the most heinous of ways… everytime it happened I knew who was at fault."

Shiishii: "So what? Your friends were an upset to balance so I did what's in my job description. I'm Death… my duty is to keep balance."

Haydes: "By killing a bunch of nobodies!? You knew them and what they all meant to me. You could probably do the same to me… and I'd be damn to let that happen. I'm a fucking god! We live forever so long as no stronger force comes along and commits murder. You think I want to live knowing I could die at any moment after you write my damn name in that book? Tch, even the carnage today was due to your oozing essence. You're truly a despicable creature."

Shiishii: "Thanks for the compliment. What else you got. Fuck your friends man. They got theirs due to choosing to go too far off the neutral path. So far that they could actually affect a crucial peice of existence if left alone. So I killed them, big fucking whoop. The minute I beat Jollister for this title, I steeled myself and mentally prepared for what was to come. The possibility of killing family and friends is highly likely here. Having accepted that… did you really think I wouldn't murder your friends if they steeped too low?"

Haydes: "Hrrrmmmm!"

Shiishii: "Stop being a bitch and try to understand what I am. You can't put an end to this… you're just too damn naive."

Haydes: "Haaaaa!" *FWIP*

Haydes rushes in on Shiishii and quickly dishes out an endless barrage of punches. Shiishii manages to keep dodging and blocking all of them as he looks for an opening for escape. Just then he finds one and slips out on the 12,000th punch sent by Haydes. Shii quickly rebounds after escaping and summons forth his dark power. 

Shiishii: "Hmmph! I'll create a platform then…. Split: Black Density!"

Within the confines of space in universe 9… a massive black carpet came about. One that Haydes ended up pressed against after a force that felt like dense gravity came crashing down on him. The sight of stars and distant galaxies were disappearing as the darkness grew. From there… Shii called forth his Death Scythe and readied the blade. By this time, Haydes was being forced into a bowing knee. 

Haydes: "N-Ngh! Ggaaah… daaammmiiitt!!!

Shiishii: *Grip* "Let's see if I can end it all here."

Shiishii brought his scythe down onto Haydes neck. Just then…. Haydes had a contract come spewing from his right eye. A preset contract that generates random contracts suited to the situation. This time around, the technique was…

Haydes: "Sudden Contract: Flip the Script!"

Shiishii: "Hmm!? What the-"

Shiishii and Haydes had swapped places and it was now Haydes bringing the scythe down on a kneeling Shiishii. A perfect counter at the perfect time. 

Shiishii: "Damn you. In that case… I'll use my study! Guild of Scythes:..."

Haydes: "Guild of what-"

Shiishii: "Absorber's Scythe!"

Shii whips out one of his fifteen Scythes from his Guild of Scythes Study. It then… *FFFFWEYIP*

Haydes: "H-He… absorbed my re-written reality and his own death scythe. You're crazy."

Shiishii: "Well now I have an Absorbing Death Scythe. Let me show you my cards… Reality Slash!"

Haydes: "Damn! (Of course he can send back the essence he absorbed!) Contract: Reality Cancel!"

Haydes completely cancels the reality altering, essence wave. 

Haydes: (Damn. That one did a quick lil number on my brain. Glad it healed quickly. That was actually a little painful.) 

Shiishii: "I gave it some thought. I honestly could care less about our moral compass and shit like that. So why don't we forget about me being Death and you being the ender of Death."

Haydes: "Hmm?"

Shiishii: "Instead… let's just fight as sibling Gahwardians. The winner can dump their morals onto the other… a Gahwardian Battle Wager. You down little brother?"

Haydes: "Hmph! You know what brother Shii… that sounds delightful. I'll show you you're not the strongest gate anymore!"

Shiishii: "Ha! We'll see… Guild of Scythes: Slasher Scythe!"

Haydes: "Indeed we shall ugly bitch. Contract: Possession of Star-Gale's Blade."

Shiishii brought forth a scythe with a blade so sharp that it cut through space at a constant. All whilst Shiishii stood still. Haydes on the other hand… brought forth a sword powered by the celestial bodies within the cosmos. It was shaped like a star with a golden bandage wrapped handle. 

Haydes: "Let's get the real thing started right now!"

Shiishii: "Yeah… let's show our kin a true Gahwardian battle. May the best God remain standing!" *FWIP*

Haydes: "Hmph!" *FWIP*

*CRRAAASH* A massive explosion is caused at the meet of their two mighty fists. The shockwave was strong enough to destroy stars more than 4 trillion miles out. And the signal the shock emitted could be felt by even Jollister, who was more than 200,000 universes away.

Jollister: "Hmm!?"

Jabreeze: "What's wrong Jollister?"

Slith: "Indeed. I've never sseen this look before. Must be Death."

Jollister: "It is mayne. My cousins' essence signatures have been fluctuating at a high rate. It would seem the battle's just truly getting started. My spar with Li'Ricio went well. And it would also seem that you guys got the study. Lets head to Universe 9 then."

Jabreeze: "Hm. Will do sir."

Slith: "Hehehe! (Perrrfect!)

Jollister and co head out to see the fight between Shiishii and Haydes. Just what is this group of people Jollister has gotten intertwined with? And what may be their goals? The battle of brothers heats up within the omniverse of STRIFE!!!

Next Chapter: War VS Death!!!