A True Hero

Shidao looked at me and watched my group retreat from the area. He smirked then teleported. He appeared above my group and charged up a blast to fire at them. I grunted and teleported. He fired the blast and I appeared in front of it and groaned.

"Ryo!" Shira yelled.

I crashed onto the ground and rolled backwards. I rebounded to one knee and stood up. I bellowed and flew to Shidao at high speeds then slashed at him. He parried my attack then punched my stomach. I coughed as his fist went deep into my gut. He chuckled darkly and flew to the ground then slammed me on my back then raised me off the ground and tossed me away.

"Come on! We don't have time to stand here!" Mom said then quickly hurried ahead, leading the group. The others followed her quickly in a panicked manner.

"I can't believe he's alive! Why is he alive?!" Hecate whined and cried out.

"We are leaving Shiryo to fight him alone as well?! Isn't this cowardly?! He's our friend and Leader!" Gideon said.

"Unlike him, we don't stand a chance!" Mom said. "We have to run to the nearest town so let's move our asses and hurry along!"

Shidao smirked and targeted Mom. "Running will only get you so far." He said then grunted as I shot him with an energy blast. He looked back and chuckled.

I flew to him and slashed at him once again. He parried my attacks and dodged my attacks with ease. He flew backwards then moved behind me at high speeds. He knocked me to the ground and flew down to me and slashed down at me. I rebounded off the ground then jumped backwards, dodging his attack. I vanished and appeared in front of him then punched his face. I looked surprised as he tanked the attack.

"Is that all you've got?" Shidao asked then grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him then kneed my stomach.

I groaned and coughed blood. 'This is bad...he's...overwhelmingly strong. He's able to make my durability look like nothing...'

Shidao sent me flying backwards and flew after me then shoved his blade through my stomach. I groaned as his sword went through my body. He raised my body up with his blade still impaled through my stomach.

"I expected more...All of that power, for nothing. It's funny because you were the only one who stood a slimmer of a chance against me. It's sad to now see you go, son." Shidao said then swiped his sword, throwing me off his blade. He walked to me and took the Medallions and flew off after Mom and the others.

I laid on the ground and grunted from the wound. I used my Crest of Magology to heal my wound. I slowly sat up and coughed. "Dammit.."

"He's stronger than we all anticipated...then again he was a God even before he died." Alethea said.

I stood up and sighed softly then looked at my broken sword. I tossed it aside and flew up into the air. "I don't know how much stronger I can get with my realistic limitations aka my age. Even with you all, I'm still pretty weak."

"Even still your endurance is better than the average high tier." Ain said. "Use our power to their fullest extent. You no longer have limitations because of Aleph's awakening. Even if he knocks you down again, you have our power to restore your stamina and such."

"Shidao must be stopped at all costs." Su Ha said.

I nodded then flew in the direction Shidao went in.

Shidao laughed as he tormented Mom and the others. He went for another blast but I kicked him to the ground and he grunted as he landed on the ground. I landed in front of him then my aura surged powerfully.

"Shiryo!" Phoenix called out in relief.

I watched Shidao stand up and heard him chuckle.

"You're just as stubborn as your pathetic mother. I'm glad because now I have something to break!" He dashed to me and smirked.

I used the Crest of Absence to nullify the damage I would've taken from Shidao's attacks then palmed his stomach. He grunted then I dodged his next attack and kicked him in the air. I summoned thunder clouds in the sky then summoned a bolt of lightning to strike down at him. He dodged the bolt of lightning and vanished and appeared behind me and slashed at my neck. I dodged his slash then kicked his stomach. I used the sand to surf backwards and made a sand dragon form in the ground then it gobbled up Shidao in one bite and flew up in the sky.

Shidao used his power to break out of the Sand Dragon and looked at me from the sky. He smirked and teleported away. I looked around for him then groaned as I was hit by an invisible force and Shidao appeared above me then grabbed the back of my head then dragged my face along the ground. He rose me off the ground and threw me then fired a massive beam of destructive energy at me. I stopped myself then summoned a barrier around my body. An explosion happened and Shidao watched.

I appeared in front of Shidao and he looked surprised. I kicked him up then a clone of me grabbed his arm and tossed him higher in the air. A third clone kicked him back down and I punched his stomach and bellowed. A powerful shockwave blew around the area and I sent him flying backwards.

"Nice attack!" Alethea said.

Shidao grunted as he rolled on his side. He recovered and landed on his feet then flew ahead towards me. He was beginning to become pissed off at the fact that I was now winning. He made his sword disappear and landed in front of me.

I looked at Shidao and glared then got into my battle stance. Shidao looked at me and grunted as he bulked up, becoming more muscular. He dashed to me and bellowed. I dashed towards him and our colliding fists caused a slight shockwave. He parried my next attack and punched my stomach. I groaned then grunted as I was sent flying with an uppercut. He flew up to me and kicked me away.

He appeared in front of me and punched my stomach then grabbed my face and threw me to the ground. I groaned as I hit the ground then recovered on my feet.

"Ragnarok State Thirty Percent!" I bellowed and combined 30% of my Ragnarok State with my Ascended Form.

I flew back up to Shidao and bellowed. He flew to me, roaring. We clashed once again and flew backwards only to fly back towards each other again and collide once more.

Shira and the others grunted as they felt the ground shaking from the collisions between me and Shidao. They looked to the sky and noticed our battle.

"He's fighting so hard just for us. Sacrificing himself to make sure we can live..." Shira said.

"I feel so useless not being able to help him.." Phoenix said.

Shidao and I continued to collide then the pressed a light energy ball against my body, causing it to explode and sent me flying into the sky. I groaned as I flew upwards. He teleported above me and punched my back, sending me crashing to the ground. I grunted loudly as I hit the ground. I slowly stood up and sensed Shidao then dodged his attack and slid backwards.

"Heh...I haven't had to try this hard since the day I fought Agni. You might just be my greatest opponent!" Shidao bellowed and flew to me at high speeds.

"Fifty Percent!" I bellowed and tapped into 50% of my Ragnarok State, combining my Unleashed Ragnarok State with my Ascended Form. I flew to him and roared.

We clashed and a crater formed in the ground. I went for a punch and he caught my fist. He began crushing my hand and I yelled in pain. He punched my stomach and laughed. He tossed me upwards then grabbed my leg then began to slam me on the ground multiple times. I yelled in pain loudly as I kept getting slammed. He tossed me up once again then grabbed the back of my head and threw me in the air. He fired a massive dark energy beam at me and it hit me then an explosion happened.

"Shiryo!" Shira yelled as she noticed the explosion.

I grunted softly and began to fall to the ground slowly. I landed on the ground and my hair covered my eyes. Shidao roared in triumph and laughed. He looked at me and noticed me get up then looked surprised.

I grunted as I stood up. "I won't...give up. They need me...I need them.."

"You're outmatched! No matter how much you power up, I'll always get stronger! We are the same! We get stronger the longer we fight and I'll always be heights stronger than you'll ever be!" Shidao smirked and his eyes shined brightly.

"Alethea, Ain, Su Ha, Circe, Minerva, Galileo, Kamila...Grant me all of your strength that I can handle. I need to beat him. I have to! For Mom...for Shira! For Aunt Hecate!" I bellowed. My Crests began to shine brightly and Shidao grunted as he felt my power increase even further.

"What the hell is this power..?" Shidao asked.

"I need more power!" I bellowed and my aura surged powerfully around my body.

Mom stopped walking and noticed the iridescent colors in the distance. She was in awe as she watched. "Shiryo..."

"He's so powerful. This power is...almost like a Deity. It's...so beautiful yet so dangerous." Hecate said.

"Ragnarok State...ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!" I roared and my Ragnarok Energy fused with my True Ascended Form.

"100%?!" Mom asked in shock.

"No...Shiryo, you can't!" Hecate yelled.

"Ryo!" Shira cried out.

Shidao looked at me and smirked widely. "You're exactly like me. Following the same curse. There's nothing you can do to avoid this fate!"

"Back then...Me and Shira loved you. We cherished every moment with you but now...I want you dead. We are NOTHING alike. You died to scar us, and I'll live to fix the pieces. With my strongest, I'll blow you away with just one attack!" I bellowed and flew up to the sky.

"Your strongest..?" Shidao asked and looked up in the air.

I held my hand in the air and a massive ball of rainbow energy appeared above my hand. White lightning crackled around my body and I bellowed.

"Fine! If you wish to end things, I'll play along!" Shidao laughed then held his hands out at me. "Omega Cannon!"

He fired a gigantic black and orange beam at me and had a wide smirk on his face.

"Final...Star Fall!" I bellowed and threw the ball of energy down at Shidao.

Our attacks collided and the shockwaves shook the ground powerfully. I yelled and flew down to my ball of energy the placed my hand on it, causing the ball of energy to push through Shidao's attack. Shidao looked surprised and grunted softly. He yelled and made his beam more powerful.

"Like I'd lose to my own SPAWN!" Shidao bellowed.

My wings disappeared, but I kept going. My stamina was draining quickly and my energy began to fade away. I let out a roar and blood came from my nose. "I...won't lose...to you!" I yelled and made my attack push down at Shidao even faster.

Shidao looked surprised and groaned loudly in pain as he was hit with my attack. The attack exploded and a bright light shined and everyone covered their eyes.

"How...could this be..? I can't lose...I re...fuse.." Shidao said to himself and faded away into magic particles.

My End Crest shattered and I fell to the ground. The light dimmed and all everyone saw was sparkles raining down. Shira ran to me and had a worried expression on her face. Mom and Hecate ran to me as well, followed by the others.

"Shiryo!" Shira screamed.

The last thing I saw before closing my eyes was the sight of my sister and the others running to me and the Medallions falling in front of me. I smiled as I was able to free my family from the curse by killing Shidao with my strongest attack.

'Goodbye...Ragnaroks. You served your purpose and now it's time...to move forward into saving the others.' I thought to myself before passing out.

"Shiryo! Shiryo!" Shira held my body up and looked at me as I had a smile on my face. She checked my pulse. "He's alive!"

"What?! Really?!" Hecate asked in shock.

"He's alive." Shira said as she cried softly and hugged me.

Mom looked at me and smiled then wiped her tears. She felt a burden life off her shoulders as her End Crest of Omega shattered and she was free from her curse as well. "He did it...He really did it.."

"Well done, Shiryo. Take as much rest as you need.." Alethea said.

"I'm almost impressed." Aleph said.

"He killed the Ruin Emperor, he's a True Hero.." Gideon said.

Mom picked me up from Shira's arms and carried me on her back. They decided to traverse the lands while I was in my Restoration Mode.

Alastor sat on his throne and noticed his End Crest of Omega shatter then grumbled. "Shidao you fool. He destroyed you and your soul. I can't recover you. You suffered a fate worse than death...you were erased from existence. That's fine...I still have King Icas and Blight. Enjoy your victory while you still can...Shiryo."