Slay Rin (The Pandora Conflict Part 4)

Year 1025, 25th of October

Chuckling like a sadist, Hestia stepped up to the threat of Shikoutazer leaving Genesis and Orion behind. The white-haired beauty still had scratches and bruises on her neck; her insides felt tainted with pain and her patience was long gone. Rintaro Hanate had done more than enough to make the deadliest killer in this world angry. Now that a big target appeared in front of her, Hestia was ready to let all that condensed hatred out on this oversized action figure.

Launching its dark singularity bomb towards the white-haired beauty, the pilot laughed maniacally expecting it to be the end of Hestia. But oh how wrong he was...

"Do you really think such a RIDICULOUS attack will do anything against ME?!" the primrose-eyed female shouted. Letting out the full power of her murderous intent just as the singularity approached herself, the gravity around Hestia suddenly intensified to the point where the incoming dark projectile merely dissipated into thin air.

"Crush..." she muttered under her breath as her gravity forced Shikoutazer's entire body structure up in the air gradually crushing the whole teigu to its core. Maniacal laughter continued to escape Hestia's lips as she spread out her arms and slowly brought her open palms together continuously damaging the now defenseless Imperial Guardian. She began compressing it into a ball as it floated above the gravity defying leader of the Sapphire Phoenix. At this point Hestia barely resembled her normal self; the somewhat arrogant yet well-mannered personality she displayed was now replaced by a pure, untainted lust for the suffering of her enemies. Shikoutazer's Purge Mode possessed living parts so as one would expect, blood soon began raining down onto Hestia.

"AHHHHHHHH! ST-STOP!" the child ruler screamed at the top of his lungs as the pain the supreme teigu felt was transferred into him. His cockpit growing ever smaller due Hestia's power over gravity, the young emperor used whatever remained of his energy to attempt an escape.

Having the supreme teigu fall so easily in battle was almost comical, and definitely a blow to the emperor's newly found pride. Nonetheless escaping with his life was the boy's only priority right now. Crawling upwards through the head Shikoutazer, the young emperor desperately looked for an exit; one he would never find.

"Out of my sight!" Hestia shouted as she slammed her palms together and then raised her arms upward towards the heavens. Shikoutazer's whole structure was smashed into a ball of metal, meat and blood; the emperor was pierced by spikes of broken metal. His skull and eye sockets were penetrated by large sharp shards of titanium. Blood gushed out of the giant ball shaped robot creating a heavy rain of crimson before the whole of the mechanized suit ended up being tossed into orbit by Hestia's motions.

Flying at a speed that massively surpassed light, the ball of metal that represented the Capital's last line of defense crashed against the sun in a matter of seconds. Her once immaculate snow-like hair now covered in crimson, Hestia breathed heavily like a beast unable to contain the intoxicating pleasure brought to her by the death of her opponent. No, saying the emperor was an opponent or even a mere adversary would be an overstatement. In truth he was nothing more than a joke, an insect trying to fight a devil disguised as an angel. He never actually stood a chance of even scratching her; it was a one-sided slaughter from the very beginning.

"Genesis...Orion," she called out to her subordinates, both of which immediately answered by reappearing next to their leader one by use of shadows and the other using his teleportation.

"We're already here in the Capital...might as well take the whole thing for ourselves," she added with an ominous smile. The chaotic aura that now surrounded the Sapphire Phoenix members wasn't normal. In fact even Akame and Kimiko could feel the presence of this imposing malevolence trying to alter their minds and take over their reasoning. However, they were more powerful than said darkness but the same could not be said for Hestia and her two loyal retainers.

"Afraid I can't let you do that," an emotionless voice reached into the ears of the corrupted beauty. Walking up to the conspiring trio with her hand over her sword's handle, Akame stood her ground against arguably three of the most powerful people in the Sapphire Phoenix. Without a hint of doubt in her red hues, the Red-Eyed Killer merely awaited for her potential adversaries to make their decision to either attack her or stand down.

"You gotta be kidding me, didn't you easily beat this girl last time you two fought, Genesis?" the shorter male, Orion, inquired.

"Yes, Yes I did. It's strange that you would believe yourself to be able of fighting me, Miss Akame," Genesis remarked.

"Not just you, Genesis. You three can come at me all at once. It still won't make any difference whatsoever, but at least I'd have a tiny bit of fun," the older Akame confidently responded before putting her hand away from her Murasame's handle. Taken by surprise, the trio took a step back unsure of how dangerous this adult Akame really was.

"You're not gonna use your teigu?" Hestia questioned curiously.

"Don't need it," the Red-Eyed Killer bluntly responded. Immovable and unbreakable, Akame stood like an omen of death itself with her blank emotionless stare. Whatever force was affecting these three, it probably originated from Pandora's Box. All the girl really had to do was hold them here until Akaro and Adena stopped Rin, but knocking them out cold would be far more convenient.

While that happened, Kimiko moved up to the household apartment rooftop where Esdeath found herself watching the ongoing battles from. It was a rather small concrete and steel structure. The roof itself was rather bland and white in coloring, but it was still located far enough from danger to provide Esdeath with a sense of safety. Yet after having watched Hestia reduce the capital's greatest weapon to scrap metal with almost no problem whatsoever, the ice queen could feel her heart race with fear.

Turning to face her challenger, Esdeath's blue eyes widened with surprise. Reaching for her rapier with one hand and creating an ice blade with the other. The great ice queen immediately charged towards the young red-eyed female who now stood silently in her way with her crimson cloak dancing in the wind. Using a sequence of horizontal strikes with her blades, Esdeath relentlessly attacked Kimiko as if killing this young girl was what would decide the ice queen's fate in this war between gods and demons. However as Esdeath soon discovered, her attacks all missed. Somehow every time she took a swing at Kim, her blades would inexplicably push away from their intended target leaving the general looking like a complete joke and an unskilled swordswoman.

"What the hell? Why can't I hit her?" she questioned in between heavy breaths. Unfortunately for her she wouldn't get any of her questions answered.

Moving her right leg at ridiculously fast speeds, Kimiko landed a sweeping kick against Esdeath's ankles. Losing her balance, the general was now a victim to gravity as she collapsed face first against the hard ground with enough force to crack it apart.

"Your technique is quite sloppy, Esdeath," Kimiko casually spoke out in a taunting manner.

Immediately standing back up on her feet as blood dripped down her broken nose, Esdeath roared with hatred as she once more dashed at the seemingly emotionless red-eyed girl. Thrusting both of her hands forward, Esdeath unleashed a wave of large ice spikes with the intent of ending Kimiko's life with long range attacks.

"Flawed..." Kimiko muttered under her breath. As if in sync with her words, Esdeath's projectiles all shattered apart upon contact with their target.

"Now that's enough! Makahadoma!" Esdeath shouted in order to activate her trump card ability which allowed her to temporarily freeze the space-time continuum of a certain area for a few minutes. Immediately the sadist charged at Kimiko ready to thrust her rapier into the young girl's heart. A smile began creeping its way across Esdeath's lips as the intoxicating sense of incoming victory slowly but surely got to her head. Such a fact made her reaction to seeing her trump card break apart all the more entertaining. The woman's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she saw Kimiko effortlessly take a step forward in this frozen space-time, transcending it as if it was nothing more than a ridiculous joke.

Stopping dead in her tracks, Esdeath watched in fear as a beautiful crimson radiance then began being emitted from Kimiko's left eye. While looking at it, Esdeath felt as if she was staring at the gaze of a goddess.

"Just...Just what the hell are you?!" she cried out before falling down to her knees. Once considered the strongest teigu user in the empire, Esdeath now slowly realized just how weak she actually was in comparison to those at the top of the food chain. Be it the Sapphire Phoenix or these strange visitors from some foreign country, Esdeath felt her will to fight fade away. In the end, no matter what she did to get stronger; no matter what tactics or techniques she tried to use in battle; no matter what she did; someone like this girl named Kimiko would always put her right back down at the bottom. To add insult to injury, Kimiko Hanate didn't even utilize a weapon or teigu to outperform and overwhelm the sadist; instead she all but flat out danced around and toyed with Esdeath like she was nothing more than a doll.

"What am I, you ask? Name's Kimiko Hanate and I'm just here for the pancakes," the youthful red-eyed girl added sarcastically before letting out a cheeky smile. Slamming her fist against the ground, Esdeath looked up at her adversary before smirking ominously.

"I admit it...your power is in a completely different dimension than my own, but Kimiko Hanate...lowering your guard around the enemy was a mistake. After all, you should always watch your back."

Blood dripped down Esdeath's lips as she spoke those words, looking like she had a plan B after all.

"Blood Hunter!" A male voice shouted from afar. Letting his presence be known to all, Aquilo launched his spear from the top of another nearby household structure. Aimed at Kimiko's heart, the supposedly unavoidable Gungnir quickly traveled towards the girl's turned back.

"You're done for!" Esdeath mumbled with whatever remained of her strength. Despite this little surprise however, Kimiko merely smiled.

"Thank you for the treat," she jokingly spoke before turning around at the last possible instant grabbing the body of lance before it could do anything at all to her. Coming to a halt between Kimiko's fingers, the holy lance that carried the power to level an entire island was stopped completely. Toying with her new stolen weapon, Kimiko twirled the spear around with elegant precision and skill superior to that of the best lancers in known history.

"Eh..." Aquilo couldn't believe his eyes. Even as he quickly extended his hand out to command Gungnir to come back to him, the teigu refused to listen to his calls. Esdeath who was still on her knees shared that same reaction as the terror and despair she felt grew each passing second. Without much choice, Aquilo jumped over to Esdeath's side and offered a helping hand. Standing with her former student by her side, Esdeath felt a small semblance of confidence build up inside her. Kimiko on the other hand continued to increase in skill each passing instant as she toyed around with Gungnir.

"Man this teigu is not half bad...too bad it's user is the biggest loser around," she calmly insulted the Silver Fox without letting go of her cheeky smile.

"You're more skilled with that lance than my former mentor is with her many spears. Such tenacity and proficiency must have taken you years to develop," Aquilo remarked while clenching his fist.

"What skill? That's a nice theory ya got there Silverboy, but this is quite literally my first time wielding one of these," Kim bluntly responded. Silence fell upon Esdeath and Aquilo. The idea of someone mastering a completely new weapon with such flawless technique in little to no time was...unthinkable, an impossibility by any standard. It would normally take years of practice and training to even achieve half of that, but Kim did it within an instant of holding the Gungnir.

"Don't look at me with those jealous faces you two, I just happen to be a fast learner that's all," Kim continued with her cheeky remarks. From the very beginning this was nothing more than mere child's play to this girl...but such entertaining events wouldn't last much longer.

Kimiko caught a glimpse of her older friend, Akame, off in the nearby distance with the beaten and unconscious bodies of the Sapphire Phoenix that tried to attack her lying on the ground like puppets. Hestia wasn't in much better shape as she now found herself on one knee, breathing heavily as blood dripped from the left side of her forehead forming a trail down her face. Akame on the other hand was still completely unscathed by her confrontation with those three.

"Well kids, looks like playtime is over."

Not even giving Aquilo and Esdeath time to properly react, Kimiko immediately reappeared behind them both in the blink of an eye. Slamming the blunt-end of Gungnir against the back of Esdeath's spine while turning her own body to lightly karate chop Aquilo on the back of his neck, Kimiko Hanate watched as the ice queen was propelled forward while Aquilo fell to the ground now unconscious. However, Kimiko wasn't quite done yet. Taking aim with her new spear, the red-eyed female focused her gaze on Esdeath as she was still midair.

"Crimson Hunter..." she calmly uttered before launching her strengthened version of Aquilo's trump card towards Esdeath. Unlike Aquilo though, she didn't aim for the heart. Instead she overwhelmed the will of Gungnir and rewrote the directional axis of the lance to specifically aim at Esdeath's left arm. Piercing right between the connection of shoulder and arm, the spear cut through its intended target's limb cleanly. Esdeath finally fell to the ground unconscious, now with only one arm. Reaching her hand out, Kimiko called Gungnir back to her grasp before she buried its sharp tip into the concrete mere inches away from Aquilo's head.

"I guess that takes care of the side characters...oh the joy," Kim casually remarked before leaping over to Akame, who by now had gathered the unconscious bodies of Raizo, Orion, and Genesis in a line.

The surrounding areas were now little more than a destroyed cityscape with lots of rubble and smoke. This war had certainly taken its toll on the capital. Limping over to Akame and Kim, Hestia sat in-between her unconscious comrades. She looked both tired and defeated, but still kept a straight face.

"You know...if it weren't for that merciful nature of yours, you'd be the perfect assassin," Hestia spoke with heavy breaths.

"I don't care for such things anymore; I'm just here for my family," Akame responded.

"Oh? Well I guess we have something in common then," Hestia continued with her scheming attitude.

"We have nothing in common."

"Are you sure about that, Red-Eyed Killer? We're both mothers looking out for our families, I can tell just by looking. Furthermore, we're both where we are because of said motherly goal even receiving heavenly gifts of our own."

"What are you trying to get at?"

"That we're more similar than we may want to admit...so how were you able to best me like you did?" Hestia inquired, more interested in Akame's level of skill than anything else.

"It's because you're nothing more than an old fashioned bad mother, Hestia," Akame's reply was blunt and to the point, without any fear of repercussions.

"What?"

"It's quite simple, isn't it? It's definitely true that you have a level of learning potential that dwarfs my own and that given enough time you'd be able to master any and all teigu in existence with a few exceptions. But you see, all the ideas and mantras taught under the many clans linked to the Blood Wolves are just...unrefined and short sighted.

Even now with the Order of the Sapphire Phoenix, those under your command are little more than drones. You may call them retainers of your vision; however such an idea is quite literally nothing more than a beautiful lie. 'Blood is the currency the wolf uses to repay corruption' huh?

Don't make me laugh with such pathetic catchphrases. Blood Wolves, Sapphire Phoenix, your 'family', call them what you will. They're nothing more than slaves to a queen who doesn't know and has never known what being a real mother or a real leader is really like. So Hestia, do I really need to go any further? Someone like you, a tyrant and a liar, will never even come close to matching me."

Blood still streamed down Hestia's face, her body wasn't in much better shape either. It appeared the injuries delivered by Akame weren't healing as fast as any normal wounds would. Such screamingly painful sensations were not something Hestia indulged in often. Due to the nature of her teigu's abilities, she was always night-untouchable and her skills in combat were also not usually bested.

"You beat me, lecture me about what true mother and a leader is, insult my clan's memory, then you look at me with those ruby eyes...all because I said we were similar in nature...Geez Akame, you must truly be a tyrant underneath that pretentious noble assassin act."

"Perhaps I am like that, but you know what I'm not? A mother who would abandon her child to an uncertain fate in order to follow her own selfish and self-centered ambitions."

"..."

The two shared one last clash of gazes, crimson and primrose. Their mere eye contact made it clear that under any other circumstances this little chit-chat would result in a battle to the death, or at the very least a more deadly encounter between mothers. Turning her gaze to the remains of the imperial palace, Kimiko smiled knowing that the outcome of this war was now fully dependent on Akaro and Adena. Sure both Kim and Akame could probably make it to them in time to help, but leaving an unconscious Raizo alone with his wounded mother while enemies still linger around would not be wise.

"Don't let Adena's hatred towards my brother bring about her downfall, Akaro," Kim mumbled under her breath before returning to her usual deadpan expression.

---The Imperial Palace—

"So I just jammed my fingers in there, and then she went boom! Who would've guessed a Ruler could reach that point so fast, I was rather amused," Akaro spoke with a smile stamped across his lips. Now making his way through whatever remained of the palace's long hallways with his new redheaded companion by his side, the Red-Eyed Hero shared some of his age restricted tales from way back in the day.

"You sure have a lot of good stories, mister. Reminds me of that one time me and Zephy went to the hot springs, we ended up in a six sixty-nine situation with the owner's daughter. Yeah they got sore for a few days after that, good times though," Adena played along. Despite their more than noticeable differences in power and appearance, both Akaro and Adena share an affinity for each other's company.

"Omai, you're quite the mischievous one aren't ya?" Akaro remarked cheekily.

"Like you're any better," she spoke before giving out a friendly wink to the male.

As the two advanced, they saw broken walls, smashed furniture, and even corpses crushed by fallen debris. Slowly but surely both Akaro and Adena took step after step as they remained being on the lookout for potential traps or any form of ambushes. Tension was high as the whole of creation all but depended on their success; failure was definitely not an option this time around. Nevertheless, the two found themselves delving deeper into this darkness while keeping confident smiles on their faces.

"Almost there, ready to get it on with Rin?" Akaro joked as he and his new fiery friend approached the gates that led into the throne room.

"You bet! And this time, I won't be gentle," she responded with precision before delivering a friendly punch to Akaro's shoulder.

From the Red-Eyed Hero's perspective, Adena looked rather excited for the bloodshed that would undoubtedly come from the battles ahead. Regardless, the duo reached out for the closed doors with both of their hands and slowly pushed them open before advancing into what remained of the throne room. Waiting for the arrival of their powerful visitors, Rin and Rias looked towards the opened gates as they silently stood behind Pandora's Box. The darkness being radiated from the godforsaken box now oozed around the room and out through the multi-colored glass windows located throughout the palace.

Seeing the Red-Eyed Phoenix once more brought a sense of anger to Adena, but unlike before, she could now fully control those toxic, dark emotions. Rin on the other hand merely smirked confidently at his two visitors; the expression he carried was like that of a ravenous hunter who had just caught glimpse of his daily meal. Rias meanwhile remained as neutral as she could possibly be while only occasionally allowing herself to feel excitement over the idea of facing another Ultimate Teigu in combat.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Adena," the former imperial remarked as he ever so elegantly removed his fingerless black leather gloves revealing two tattoos in the shape of the legendary phoenix on the back side of his palms; both of which were black and possessed red and blue outlines.

"This time I'm ready for you," Adena spoke before lowering herself to a fighting stance akin to that of a physically potent brawler or a boxer; she didn't pull out any weapons this time around as she now sought to take on Rin with nothing but her own power.

"Fired up are we? Heh...well I can't have you transforming and ruining everything now can I? Rias suppress Adena as best you can," Rin quickly and promptly ordered. Immediately obeying her 'daddy's' orders, the gothic loli raised her arms up to her chest and closed her eyes before whispering out the words: "Shinra Koketsu..."

This caused a sudden burst of dark red energy to encompass the entirety of the throne room. Both Akaro and Adena felt their energies being massively suppress and crushed under the weight of a neutron star. The two assassins hardly moved or felt any pain at all; however, it was clear that their ability usage would now be severely limited. Or at least that was the case for Adena.

"Well, well, well...if you hadn't interfered Adena would be a defenseless piece of meat right about now," Rias commented before finally turning her scarlet gaze towards the Red-Eyed Hero.

"You look surprised," Akaro responded as he slowly met the female's deadpan stare with a mischievous smirk to match.

"No I wouldn't say surprised, I was just testing your capabilities. After all, it would be a shame if I ended up being too rough on you," she remarked.

"Oh? I can handle it rough," Not fazed by the girl's threatening words Akaro looked to his side only to see Adena with her eyes dead set on Rin.

"You can still handle him even without your transformations can't you?" He inquired.

"Guess we'll find out. Hope you can distract Rias for long enough," the redhead spoke.

"Yer damn right I can."

Boldly taking a step forward while closing his eyes, Akaro focused his energies into his body. He could feel the power within himself getting loose as the old images of a very specific set of forty eight weapons appeared into his mind. Created by the first emperor to protect the empire for eternities to come, these teigu were tools of all shapes and sizes; their blueprints resonated and radiated within the him as he weaved their maximum potential together with his own power.

A sapphire blue aura began emanating around Akaro just as his hair adopted a similar coloring. Everyone in the room could feel the pressure rise up around the now blue haired assassin in contrast to his rising strength which skyrocketed hundreds of times over in this blue form. In mere seconds it surpassed and dwarfed even the altered state Adena had witnessed earlier. This equilibrium between all teigu at their strongest state, this limitless assembly of mythical weaponry, this form that embodies and transcends all Kamui was something only allowed for an Ultimate Teigu ...and its name was…

"Zen Mode...the penultimate state of power allowed only to a piece of future warfare such as myself," Akaro proclaimed as his sapphire flaming aura grew into a vertical beam of energy that pulverized the roof above the throne room and quickly pierced through the heavens themselves.

"The light we saw that day...the God's Tear…" Adena stumbled on her own words unsure of how to react. Seeing her confusion Akaro looked to his side with a curious expression.

"Beyond tier three? What do you mean?" he asked. Blinking several times fast, Adena snapped out of that battle ready atmosphere due Akaro's question.

"Oh? You don't know? Lady Hestia taught us to separate our more powerful moves into three tiers: Bushido, Musou, and Kamui. Each tier increases significantly in power, but this blue form of yours...it doesn't fit into any of those categories," she quickly explained. Akaro himself merely chuckled at that explanation before responding.

"Of course it doesn't, this blue state is not a move. The skills you identify as Kamui are still imperfect in nature thus they are merely temporary enhancements or moves like Raizo's Sundering Strike. A Kamui skill in its perfected stages can allow the user to transcend into new heights for as long as he or she may desire. As a living teigu, I am the embodiment of all original 48 teigu and I can also replicate any new teigu or useful weapons I come across like I did with Indra's Judgment. This Zen mode as I call it is what happens when you put all of those teigu together in their Perfect Kamui states," he detailed.

"So theoretically speaking since it is beyond tier three, would the Perfect Kamui be a hypothetical tier four in Hestia's system?" Rin inquired now curious about the power presented to him. Turning his radiant sight towards the Red-Eyed Phoenix, Akaro decided to play along with the conversation.

"I suppose so, although it would be an extraordinarily high-end of this hypothetical tier four as this form has the powers and abilities of more than forty eight Perfect Kamui states," he calmly spoke before crossing his arms, "But that's not the full extent of this form. Thanks to my friend over here, I've added a few new tricks to it."

"Oh?" Both Adena and Rin reacted simultaneously to the knight's claims.

"Agni's Radiance...such a teigu does not exist in my Earth, probably because my wife killed off the Sapphire Phoenix faction and dismantled all clans related to its existence after the war. Anyway the teigu's effects on the user are quite interesting; I have at most used it's Musou moves but can't y'all just wonder what it's further powers combined with Zen mode would look like?" the Red-Eyed Hero remarked as a confident smile appeared across his lips.

"You can't be serious...such a violent teigu could never coexist in equilibrium with all others, even attempting that would destroy your body. It is simply impossible; you would end up becoming a raging monster!" Rin shouted.

"As luck would have it...doing the impossible is my specialty."

Taking one more step forward as his words echoed within everyone's heartbeats, the legendary miracle bringer finally brought his impossible claims into reality.

"Sekihōhen'i!" he shouted as the sapphire blue aura that surrounded himself weaved and shifted into an extremely bright red color. Soon the heavens themselves were overtaken by this blinding beam of red light; the hero's eyes changed as well adopting a light blue tone to its irises. As Akaro's bright aura finally compressed back into his body, all were left in awe as they glanced at this shining redheaded figure.

"Redshift: Zen mode...this is the combined power of the Zao-Long and Hajime families," Akaro spoke as his now light blue eyes radiated with the power he now possessed.

"That is...SO AWESOME!" Adena overreacted; her expression now reassembled that of a child finally seeing their favorite superhero in action. As he watched this situation unfold, Rin couldn't help but be impressed with Akaro's raw potential. Turns out Hestia really wasn't hyping up or lying about his strength.

"It should be obvious by now that the difference between our powers is quite big...and that's putting it lightly. So how about y'all just quit while you still have all your body parts yea?" the Shining Red Hero remarked as the mere pressure exerted by his presence put an ever-growing sense of fear in his opponents. It was at that moment of overwhelming superiority that all eyes turned to the one girl who could match Akaro, Rias Makiri, as she calmly stepped up to face this Red Knight who stood against her cause.

"Oh. You say that we should stop, that we stand no chance but aren't we the heroes here? Isn't the outcome of our cause the best possible one? Just imagine...a world where all of our wishes become reality, a world where all, even the dead, can be the gods of their own existence. Isn't that something you'd want big...bro?"

Her emotionless tone and disinterested expression was quite the heart stabber. Combine that with the aura of murderous intent she had around herself and it became all too obvious to Akaro why Rias had been able to match and exceed all within her universe by such a significant marginal difference.

"What exactly is the point of a world without hardship? We live, we learn, we adapt, we survive, we overcome. All that we feel, be it love or hate, it all ultimately helps us forge ourselves into what we are as individuals. I laugh at the thought of a world without regret, without death, without happiness, and all emotions brought to us by our hardships and experiences in this life bestowed to us by The-Goddess-Above-All," Akaro's response didn't show any hint of doubt making it immediately clear that he wouldn't simply listen to his enemy's philosophy.

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical, Akaro? You're putting the development of one's character over the potential happiness of countless lives in a perfect world...what kinda of hero does that?" Rias inquired now showing more interest in this debate.

"So what if I am a hypocrite? I've spent more than enough time trying to save the many; I tried to be an impartial balance, always choosing to be a savior to the masses but not the individual. In the end however...I met her, the girl who showed me that everything and everyone has a flaw and that accepting those is what allows us to better ourselves," he responded.

"My, oh my...you've truly become another blind follower of Akasha haven't you? Your loyalty sickens me to no end," Rin finally spoke his mind.

"So you know that name huh? Well I wouldn't call it loyalty...I'd just call it unconditional love," Akaro answered without wavering in his decision.

"No matter what we say...you won't see things our way?" Rias asked one last time.

"You can have the noblest and most pure intentions in the world, but if you threaten the world me and my family tried to protect for all of these centuries...then I'll be your villain every time."

Silence fell as Akaro finished his sentence. No matter how much the two who sought after the power of Pandora tried, the one who stood in their way would never surrender or accept the world they proposed. The girl who stood by his side, Adena, couldn't help but look up at the shining red persona Akaro embodied; one that she now understood was neither truly incorruptible nor corrupted. Instead the redheaded girl now saw Akaro as the most human person she had met thus far in life, a fact that contradicted the Red Knight's origin as a weapon and his role as nothing more than a Counter Guardian.

"Heh you may have gotten that new form thanks to Agni's Radiance, but your light, your brilliant flames are way brighter than mine," the former Jade Dragon Princess mumbled under her breath.

This was it...Rin and Rias were against the wall and by now the chances of them managing to open Pandora were small at best, but even so, both of them remained relatively calm.

"It's a shame you won't join us Akaro, I would've loved to have a big brother, but oh well...time to slay the resplendent hope," Rias spoke as a primrose and dark purple miasma started to ooze from her body. In mere milliseconds, her power began skyrocketing by hundreds if not thousands of times over. Akaro's shining blue eyes widened with surprise, he did not expect Rias to be able to achieve this level of strength.

"A power that eclipses imagination… you're not the only with that kind of strength," she declared; her jet black haired burst out of its twin tails as it changed to a whitish rose coloring, the oozing miasma around herself became a dark violet, translucent aura that echoed with traces of white electricity. As everyone in the room watched Rias' hair cascade down onto her back, all were left in awe by this enhanced Zen mode that surpassed even Akaro's red form by a significant amount.

"Doing the impossible huh? Well I just added four very special teigu on top of the already crowded Redshift Zen mode you just displayed," Rias spoke as time and space, wind and fire, space and gravity, all started to swirl around her dense aura. Time, ice, reality...every passing second something new appeared around her ever so powerful aura. The power of the multiple gods contained within the Sapphire Phoenix teigu and all other extract teigu combined with the nigh-endless potential and affinity for easily mastering abilities of an Ultimate Teigu stacked on top of Zen mode. Akaro couldn't help but be slightly impressed with his enemy's talent.

"On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have used the Zen form in front of someone who can learn just about anything instantaneously," he slowly remarked before sighing.

"No shit dude," Adena added swiftly.

"So what now Red-Eyed Hero? Will you unleash that boundless platinum power you displayed when you first arrived in this world or will you fall here?" Rias inquired.

"Hum...nope for both of yer options kiddo. Fighting you here would be troublesome now wouldn't it? So I'm taking you somewhere special."

"Oho a date it is then..."

Seeing Akaro and Rias play off each other was quite the experience to those around. Between the death threats and constant displays of new and unknown techniques, both Ultimate Teigu creations were like the equivalent of two unstoppable forces clashing head on. Knowing that the battle ahead was one he'd have to put some thought and at least some miniscule amount of effort into, Akaro looked to the one standing by his side.

"Adena, you take care of Rin. I'll deal with Rias," he said.

"Ah don't sweat it, I'll be done by the time you're back," she commented with the usual cockiness Akaro had come to expect from her. Turning his gaze back to Rias, the two almighty figures stared each other down for a moment before suddenly vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye. Their battle now unfolded beyond the reaches of the perceivable and well known three-dimensional space that composed this universe. Instead the pair of ultras now fought beyond the reaches of any analogues of time and space; something unfathomable to even the strongest of warriors. This of course, meant Adena and Rin were finally left face to face.

"Before we do this..." Rin spoke before reaching into the pocket on the right side of his trench coat. Pulling out a small vial from within his pocket, the former imperial opened it with his thumb before pouring the blood contained within onto Pandora's Box. Seconds later, one of the A's craved in the box began glowing the same coloring as the K and R respectively. Now only two A's of the name AKARA remained dormant.

"What are those letters supposed to mean?" Adena inquired.

"They're the initials of the first names of each individual member of the Red Kings from ancient mythology and folklore. To open the box one needs the DNA of the five families those warriors belonged to; now only two blood samples remain to be collected...I must thank Akame for ending her sister's life. Kurome's blood proved itself to be very useful," Rin responded meekly as his eyes became dead set on Adena. Like a starving predator Rin Hanate anxiously craved for Adena's Zao-Long blood.

Dashing towards the redhead at speeds Adena could barely react to in her suppressed state; Rin launched a flurry of sequential flaming jabs at the girl's face. Striking from left to right, all Adena could do was take these punches directly as her head and neck were violently forced around in accordance to the direction of each move. From an outsider's perspective it looked as if Adena was being ruthlessly demolished, but in actuality she was merely allowing her opponent to get the upper hand. To her, those continental punches did nothing but slightly tickle. As sweat ran down her body in accordance to her own will, Adena smiled as she performed one of her techniques. Quickly twirling her body around in between her opponent's attacks, Adena ran her hand across her sweat drops before quickly launching them directly at Rin's eyes.

The Red-Eyed Phoenix howled in agony as the hot sweat made contact with his irises. Accelerant—the substance produced from Adena's sweat acted as an agent that could speed up the burning damage dealt to a target. However in this battle, Adena choose to use it as a form of distraction. Following this Adena took the opportunity to back away and prepare another move. Punching the ground with all her strength, she commanded the magma within the Earth's core to burst beneath Rin's feet as he was stunned. A mere instant later, Rin was consumed by a pillar of lava. For a good five seconds the upwards stream of fire continued to burn Rin before finally dying down. By the end of it the former imperial was little more than a blackened corpse who somehow remained standing even though no life inhabited his body anymore.

"Defeated by a simple Musou move...I'm disappointed, Rin," Adena remarked. She was still unscathed despite having been struck over a thousand times. Unfortunately for Adena, this battle was not over quite yet. Regenerating back to his former self in seconds as dark blue flames ignited around his corpse, Rin smirked as his power transcendent its limits and achieved new heights.

"Fukkatsu..." he muttered the name of his trump card which allowed for the user's revival. Adena didn't have time to react before her opponent reappeared inches away from her face.

"Whore..." Rin muttered before quickly grabbing hold of Adena's neck with enough force to make the female cough out blood.

"Bas...tard," Adena couldn't even speak. Her body's natural durability against heat and flaming based attacks trembled before those strangely ominous dark blue flames.

"You thought that would be enough to kill me?! ME?! You bitch!" Rin shouted in her ear. Slamming Adena face first against Pandora's Box with enough force to easily shatter her noose, Rin laughed maniacally as her blood dripped down onto his prized object. Mere seconds later, the 'A' representative of the Zao-Long family began glowing brightly alongside the other letters carved in the box.

"Sol-...Solar..." Adena stumbled on her own words as the taste of her own blood filled up her senses. The consciousness she desperately held onto also began to fade. Grabbing her once more, Rin lifted the female with one hand while carefully making sure to only pull her high enough so the two could look at each other eye to eye.

"How does it feel to taste defeat once more huh? First Raizo, then Hestia, and now me again, so much for that childish ego of yours," Rin mocked her.

"Heh...really now? Don't be ridiculous, Rin. Things aren't the same as they once were," the redhead spoke using up whatever remained of her strength.

"Oh?"

"You see...I had to be beaten down by someone who's better than I'll ever be in order to learn that there's no bragging about strength when you yourself are at the bottom. You're not better than me, Rin you're not better than anyone...and neither am I."

"That's enough of your bullshit, Adena," Rin retorted back before throwing the female back first against the nearest concrete wall. Her vision now blurry and her internal organs destroyed, Adena couldn't help but close her eyes and embrace the coldness of what seemed like death's true arrival. The healing flames she would normally use to avoid this fate were suppressed by Rin's blue flames and even the infamous enhanced durability that was her trademarked skill could do nothing for her right now. All noise soon vanished as Adena suddenly found herself on a crossroads that floated above an endless blue sky.

"What the...where am I?" she questioned. It wasn't long before she received an answer. What she didn't expect however was that the voice who answered that question would be of someone she never expected to see again.

"Welcome to the road of the afterlife, little brat."

Appearing in front of Adena in the mere blink of an eye was a tall, muscular woman with long, flowing black hair and reddish-brown eyes. She wore a tattered gakuran with a cap and metal epaulets, a rope belt, and a pair of tengu-geta. She also wrapped her bosom in a sarashi, and her wrists with the bandages typical of open-hand fighters. She had definitely changed in the long years since Adena last saw her...but nonetheless both sisters identified each other almost immediately.

"Marayah...is that really you? What's happening...wait you said road of the afterlife? Am I dead?!" the younger sister of the two began her onslaught of questions. The older of the two sisters however responded by immediately landing a punch to her younger sibling's noose. Falling on her butt, Adena looked up at her sister with a surprised expression and widen eyes. It had been more than ten years since they last met and obviously much had happened in that time. Regardless, the biggest question on Adena's mind was...Why? Why here on the road between life and death of all places?

"Don't overthink it, 'Dena. I'm on my way to see someone who's been causing trouble to everyone in Elysium and you just happened to be in the way," Marayah remarked without a care in the world before crossing her arms below her fairly big breasts. Her attitude was very indicative of a 'Punch first, ask questions while punching' personality; something Adena had grown used to in their younger days.

"But Aria..."

"Don't 'But Aria' me. You're only here because you took for granted that your little strategy would easily handle your opponent, what a disappointment you are. And you wanted to be as strong as me...pfft brat. I might as well erase you now," Marayah coldly said before reaching for her younger sister's face with an open hand.

"That's quite enough, Marayah," A voice reached through the ethereal realms of the afterlife, penetrating into the ears of all present. Appearing out of a vortex of shining azure particles a female dressed in the black robes of a priestess revealed herself to Marayah. Her dark blue hair only went down to around her neck area and her aquatic blue irises radiated with energy unlike anything Adena had ever seen before. Surprisingly enough however, this slender priestess was also someone the younger of the Zao-Long sisters knew all too well.

"A...Assana?" Adena couldn't believe her own eyes. Assana passed away in Raizo's arms years ago...so why was she here alongside Marayah?

Turning her attention towards the blue haired female, Marayah eyed Assana up and down before standing back up straight. Adena couldn't really tell what was going on, but nonetheless she could that the priestess' intervention might have just saved her life from an untimely end at the hands of her older sister.

"Let's go, before we draw any unnecessary attention," the blue haired priestess spoke before walking up to Marayah without as much as blinking or showing any signs of being intimidated by the larger, more muscular female.

"Eh?! You sure have some balls, trying to give me orders huh little priestess," the stronger female retorted back at Assana.

"Don't be so irrational Zao-Long; you're more than just a savage beast aren't you?" the aqua-eyed female calmly remarked.

"Are you patronizing me, Demiyah?" Marayah inquired.

"Not in the slightest dear. I'm just eager to see to our mission before the scribe gets on our nerves again," Assana replied without letting herself show any of the sweet and caring nature she had once been known for. Adena could barely recognize this older, more serious and methodical person Assana had become. Once an innocent and naive priestess who followed the Stormbringer around in his younger days, now a holy figure covered by black robes that seemed to hide something dangerous underneath if the sound of moving metal parts was anything to go by.

"Whatever, let's just go then."

"As you wish, Marayah."

"Wa...Aria...w…"

Before Adena could cry out to her older sister the two females vanished in the mere passing of a moment, an instant so short even Adena's eyes couldn't perceive it at all. Unable to stand up, the fiery warrior just remained there speechless in the face of the events that had just transpired. The feeling of loneliness and defeat alongside an endless ocean of confusion were the only things now floating inside her mind. Was this really her end? Were those people really her older sister and Assana just now? Was there any way for her to go back to the world of the living? All these questions...yet no answers appeared. Or at least...that's how it seemed.

As Adena looked down at the concrete road she rested on tears began escaping her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. Yet she could still hear the sound generated by the steps of a certain someone who like her walked down this lonesome road. Looking up once more, Adena saw a slender man with defined musculature towering over her. This man wore black pants and a crimson shirt with a V-cut and shortened sleeves that highlighted his strong biceps. His hair was dark, and the back of it was kept in a long ponytail of shorts. Those celestial, almost divine golden irises he possessed were also visually stunning as while looking into them one could almost grasp a sense of the boundless yet humane infinity contained within those eyes.

"Another wandering lost soul? No, you still look very much alive to me," he spoke with a small smile on his face. The care he displayed in his voice alone was unlike anything Adena had ever felt, but at the same time, a sense of familiarity was still there.

"You...who are you?" she inquired. Reaching out his hand to her, the mysterious man smiled as Adena almost subconsciously grabbed his helping hand. She didn't know why she did it, her instincts just told her to trust this stranger.

"Me? I'm just another hunter trying to find peace with the consequences of his actions, but I digress. Name's Alexander, Alexander Grayson-Mercer."

Pulling her up on her feet, Mercer let go off of Adena's hand now with a surprised look on his face.

"Heh...Pandora's Box is about to be opened and Hestia is right in there amongst all the fire huh? Well then…guess Lucy and the others are gonna have to wait," he remarked to himself with a brief chuckle at the end.

"You're acquainted with the mistress?" Adena asked, still in awe by Mercer's presence.

"Well...we were more than just acquaintances for a while, but she's no longer the woman I once—

Stopping himself mid-sentence, Mercer looked down and reconsidered his own words. "Adena wasn't it? Just one quick question before I send you back home."

"Uh...Yes?"

"The kid with the red eyes and black and white hair…is Hestia his...mother?"

"Of course, no doubt about that one," Adena eagerly responded.

Blinking several times fast, Alexander expressed the look of someone who had just figured out something obvious, something that had been hiding under his nose all along but that he didn't notice till now. Adena on the other hand couldn't really tell what was going on.

"Well you're not supposed to be here for quite a while so how about you go back and finish your death battle with Rin…" Mercer spoke before snapping his fingers together. In the following instant, Adena regained consciousness back in the real world. Opening her eyes once more, she was greeted by the sensation of blood running down her forehead just atop one of her eyes causing her to be hardly able to see properly. Rin stood across the room admiring the box he so desperately wanted open. With whatever remained of her strength put into one desperate move, Adena gathered all of her strong feelings and uncertainties as her heart burned with desire to go on. Standing up as the power of countless stars began emanating around her, the sound of her own heartbeat filled her eardrums as the will to vanquish her natural nemesis awoke.

"I will win...I will march into destiny with my new family. I promised myself I would defeat you, I will vanquish you Red-Eyed Phoenix!" Her eyes now shining with a deep crimson coloring, Adena's power resurrected from its own ashes and burned beyond its limits, caging this monster was now practically impossible.

"Come Adena...may the strongest killer survive," Rin simply responded as a huge smile appeared on his lips. Rivers of red and blue flames began melting the imperial palace around both fighters, soon a vortex of crimson and azure rose into the heavens as Adena and Rin stared at each other while standing at the undying heart of this firestorm. Their next moves would determine the fate of this heated confrontation between Fire Goddess and Dark Phoenix.

""Let's finish end this...once and for all"" They spoke simultaneously before launching themselves towards each other one last time.

Playing it smart while pulling her flaming fist back, Adena drained energy from the very star that lights up the Earth causing it to rapidly enter a state of supernova before bringing that energy into her fist from millions of miles away in mere moments. Her power now outclassed the notion of galaxy level blasts and she only grew stronger while she approached her intended target. Rin however was not impressed. As he condensed the full might of his blue flames around himself charging his equally as powerful fist, he smiled knowing the whole universe was now suddenly being thrown into an unfolding apocalyptic scenario.

Their clash could kill all that lives in this world and that's what Rin wanted. He wanted Adena to succumb to the regret she would feel off of taking an innumerable number of innocent lives. She always had it easy, her talent was immeasurable and her skills unfathomable. He always had it rough, a rejected child tossed away only to then be used as an imperial soldier.

"Kamui...Supernova!" Adena screamed as she launched her fist.

"Phoenix-Nova!" Rin did the same as his fist clashed against hers.

A sundering burst of fire and harmful radiation was unleashed with the vortex of flames that rotated ever so violently around the two master assassins. It was as if the heat of Hell itself had suddenly decided to envelope the imperial palace. Soon walls, furniture, and everything in-between began degrading and melting within the path of this mighty onslaught. Like a raging tornado, the ascending pillar of red and blue fires created a visage similar to a double helix to anyone watching from the sidelines. At the center of it all both Adena and Rin remained at the eye of this firestorm, their clash now having reached a deadlock. Blood and sweat ran down both warriors' faces as each passing second ate away tremendous amounts of stamina. As Rin suspected, the one who could ultimately outlast the other would be victorious.

"I told you once before didn't I? You'll never beat me, Red. My talent and skill may be inferior to yours, but my intellectual prowess and superior raw potential shall always get the best of you," Rin bragged arrogantly.

"Not this time, Rin...I wanted this deadlock."

"What?! You actually used your brain?! Ridiculous!"

"I probably have enough energy to reform myself partially afterwards… but, it will do just fine."

Particles of light began to resonate and burn brightly around Adena's skin; the explosive power contained within her body suddenly skyrocketed up and above its current limits. It appeared as if the female was now about to a reach her apex in destructive capacity. Such a fearsome fact caused Rin's usual psychopathic persona to become tainted with fear. It was at that moment that the man who identified by the title of Red-Eyed Phoenix saw what would become of this battle of gods; he now knew that...he had lost.

"Hum...so I didn't account for your final technique huh? No matter, my objectives are complete. Pandora will be opened and my new world shall become everyone's new reality...I'll make sure all your wishes come to fruition in it."

"Heh, fuck you Rin."

"So brash and violent...maybe one day you'll see the world the way I see it: a dark mirage waiting to be broken, a lie told by those who fear the Oh-so powerful Goddess-Above-All… Akasha."

"I don't care about any of that crap… I'm no heroine, no killer, and certainly no harbinger fighting to save the whole damn universe. I'm someone who fights for those I love. I know it may sound stupid but I'd do anything for them. I've only known those three for over a day or two and yet I already feel more at home with them than with my family at the Sapphire Phoenix despite the fact that I was essentially an annoying punching bag for them for a while there..."

"Grrr...What are you saying?!" Rin inquired as he felt himself being pushed back by Adena's newfound strength.

"Hell if I know, I'm just venting out my feelings before we end this war between us once and for all," Adena stated as the energy around her grew more and more unstable each passing instant.

"So you're gonna destroy everything just to take me out? I'm flattered," the Red-Eyed Phoenix responded while ironically smiling.

"You just couldn't let me win, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you Adena? You didn't outright kill me when you could've out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I didn't outright kill you when I had the chance because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

"If you survive this war you'll be sent to a padded cell before being executed publicly and forgotten by history...there is no scenario where we meet again after today."

"Heh...you know Adena...in the end, I think we could've been friends, perhaps even something more had the world been a different place."

With his eyes now closed Rin reflected on the events that had led up to this point.

"Come now Adena let it all out! Show me...your power!"

"Goodbye Rin… turn to ash… Meltdown!"

Exploding into a flash of light, everything within the imperial palace was leveled into a spiral of bright, powerful orange flames awakened by the complete destruction of Adena's body. Rin could only watch in awe as the female's body burst into a beautiful ocean of heat. Nanoseconds passed as he felt his entire existence being erased, the embrace of nonexistence blinding his senses. Ironically...he felt cold as his body vanished from this world. In the end, all that remained was a crater where the imperial palace once stood; thankfully Adena was nice enough to contain the blast radius of her own suicidal attack. The only thing that remained unaffected by Adena's Meltdown was the object known as Pandora's Box—alone it took up its place at the center of all destruction.