115: A New Dawn

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(Davian's P.O.V)

I spat out wood chips while rolling to my feet, escaping a foot stomp from Shiva.

Man, she was manhandling me.

"I haven't been hit that hard by a woman before."

I told her, narrowing my eyes as I studied her soul for her next move.

I needed to win this. I was getting better but not fast enough to actually beat her in the time frame I wanted.

Something was about to happen. I could feel it.

It felt like everytime I reached a benchmark, she would up the ante.

"Get used to it."

She said, sharing the same vicious smirk I had on my face.

"Round 3?"

I asked, rolling my neck.

"If you're up to it."

She quipped, making me chuckle slightly.

"I am so going to kick your ass."

My promise was followed by me kicking a wooden dummy, one of those used for Wing Chun practice, towards her.

She neatly stepped to the side and slashed it apart with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not done yet."

I told her before copying her earlier move and stomping on the floor of the dojo. The whole building shook.

Shiva steadied her balance very quickly, but I was already on her, swinging my sword towards her shoulder in a lethal move meant to split someone apart.

How do you best someone who outclasses you in skill and agility? By leveraging your strengths.

Or in this case, my strength.

She went down on a knee with a groan, blocking the attack with her Katana, but completely failing to block the mule kick I delivered to her chest.

Shiva shot off, smacked onto the walls of the dojo and broke through into the next room.

I followed her quickly, only to widen my eyes as she was already up and coming at me with a lethal thrust to my neck.

I couldn't raise my long sword fast enough to block.

The Katana inched closer and closer...only for a sharp ring to sound out as it met the side of Chesha Neko's sheath, gripped tightly on my left hand.

She pulled back, narrowly evading a swing from Chesha Neko by cartwheeling back.

We stopped and stared at each other. A small trail of blood seemed to flow down the side of her lips.

That kick I'd delivered had been strong enough to no doubt cause her internal injuries.

It was crazy that she could still be moving.

"You-"

I begun but she immediately went on the offensive again.

Only to stop mid stride as the ground started rumbling.

The wooden rafters begun shaking as a sinister Reiryoku made itself known.

The worst part? It felt so familiar! It felt like mine, only...with something more volatile thrown in the mix.

With a click, everything became clear. The dome hadn't been made to simply drain my spirit energy and suppress me.

No, Savage had planned this.

He had used the drained spirit energy to create something. A hollow with both spirit energy and...the same power running through Klarion's body.

This was like Barragan all over again.

Fuck.

"Sorry, gotta go."

I threw over my shoulder at Shiva, preparing to put down whatever this breed of Hollow was.

Only for the deadly assassin to block my way, moving to the front like a shadow.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She asked, twirling her Katana.

"Step aside. This is more than about us."

My response fell on deaf ears.

She bent low, Katana gripped tightly, her eyes glowing with the promise of death.

"I was wrong about you. You wouldn't take on the world alone. You're just a scared little boy."

Her words strangely cut deep.

Whether it was because I had come to begrudgingly respect her or something, they still made me frown.

"I don't need to prove anything to you." I responded, making eye contact.

"If you want to die...fine. I'm done playing around."

Mirth danced in her eyes. As if the prospect of me beating her was too foreign to consider.

What Shiva didn't know was that the Hollow on the outside had destroyed the dome. The timing couldn't have been better.

I managed to tap into my Spirit energy for just a second. But that second was enough.

"Shikai!"

The euphoria of tapping into my Reiryoku once more was more centering than anything.

My body sang with unrepressed strength and my senses were back to being as sharp as ever.

That was the only reason I felt the massive attack headed towards us.

And despite Shiva being an enemy, I found myself pulling her behind me with my strings as I called out my Fullbring.

(General P.O.V) (few minutes prior)

A loud explosion rang out above Infinity Island.

An explosion that could be seen from miles away. Luckily enough, the island was a long distance from any landmass.

The A.R.G.U.S Ark was split in the middle by the cero.

Without the red dome acting as a shield, the shards of metal and burning debris fell onto the island, destroying more buildings and vegetation.

"Savage! This is not what we agreed upon!"

Ra's yelled, gripping the pommel of the sword at his hip.

The league of shadows followed his move, the air ringing with the sound of drawn metal.

"Isn't it glorious?"

Vandal Savage widened his hands, seemingly unafraid of all the Ninjas surrounding him.

"Imagine this power...on our people. On your Shadows Ra's. Imagine the age of prosperity we could usher in, old friend."

He turned to one of his most important allies, reaching out a gloved hand.

"Join me and let's truly light a path for the world."

He offered.

Ra's Al Ghul looked at the hand.

"No."

He finally answered, looking up at Savage.

"I was with you when you truly wanted what was best for this planet."

The aged leader of the assassins shook his head while adding,

"However, if my island is any indication, you only seek meaningless death and destruction. The League of Shadows has a sacred duty. We do not condone senseless Killing."

"I see..."

Savage's hand fell, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

Ra's turned around.

"In consideration of our friendship, I will let this slide. Leave this island, Vandal Savage and never come back."

The leader of the Shadows took one step forward in a bid to leave...only for red chains to sprout from the ground.

"What is..."

Ra's Al Ghul begun.

The demon's head looked around as the chains surrounded his body, restricting his movements and ensnaring his limbs to the point he was immobilized in place.

His head snapped back to glare at Savage.

"Chaos magic!? What is the meaning of this Savage!?"

Instead of answering, Vandal Savage reached out through the control he had over the Gillian, turning it to face the shadows.

Red energy begun gathering before it's mouth.

"This...is a new dawn."

The hollow released the cero. Pandemonium followed. The spirit energy contained inside rippled out, devouring dozens of Shadows and destroying a good chunk of the island.

*******

(Other side of the Island)

The presence of the massive hollow had not gone unnoticed.

That went double when the hollow begun destroying their home.

Sensei, Ra's Al Ghul's second in command was a man who rarely made a move.

That was not to say he was incapable of delivering on the Demon's Head orders.

Which is why when the unexpected presence of the hollow was not only felt but spotted, he immobilized every other shadow in reserve.

The island needed them.

The Demon's Head needed his army.

A loud gong sounded out across the entire island.

More shadows, these ones led by Sensei himself and Ubu, appeared on the rooftops of the buildings built along the training yard.

They had just arrived to see the monster mow down a dozen of their brothers and sisters.

Warriors that Sensei himself had trained through blood and sweat.

Not to mention, the master's current situation.

There was no time for talk. Only action was needed.

"For the Demon's head. Kill this monstrosity! Show them the wrath of Ra's Al Ghul!"

Sensei commanded.

The shadows descended on the Gillian like a swarm, wielding sharp katanas and other manner of murder weapons...a war had begun.

They realized how out of depth they were, when the first clash resulted in casualties from their side.

None of their attacks could do much to the Gillain.

It's tough hide stopped any sword slashes and anyone too close to it's face would find themselves immediately crushed by the spirit energy.

The Gillian howled, stunning a couple of the shadows before sweeping them apart with a swing of it's clawed hand.

*******

"Stop this." Ra's growled out, grinding his teeth.

His shadows were dying. And there was nothing he could do. Not when the chains grew tighter everytime he tried to move.

His pride...what did it matter when his legacy was in danger of being destroyed?

Yet Vandal Savage remained silent.

"Look at me Dammit! Vandal Savage you traitor! I have given much to your course and this is how you repay my trust?!" The Demon's Head raged.

"Head my words...I shall kill you for this."

Ra's promised.

"Even with all this, you still fail to see the the Light. Klarion, shut him up. We are almost ready for the next step."

Savage finally spoke up.

From Savage's shadow, something rippled and stepped out.

Klarion's red eyes cruelly gazed at Ra's Al Ghul.

"You're so impatient. You didn't even wait for the cool villain monologue! Don't you want to know what's going on?"

Ra's looked at the creature in the form of a boy contemptuously.

"Release me, Chaos Lord or suffer the wrath of Ra's Al Ghul. Nowhere on Earth can you hide from me."

The Demon's Head words dripped with the conviction to make due on his promise.

"Whoooo so scary!" Klarion laughed, lightly brushing Teekl's fur.

"I can't wait to turn you."

His lips stretched up widely.

"You will no doubt be even stronger than the cripple guy! Forcefully combining Spirit energy into monsters and beasts wasn't working. But then we stumbled upon a revelation. The human gene, the most unadaptable..."

Teekl meowed.

Klarion threw a stink eye at the familiar in his hand, now back to it's regular size after Davian had attacked them.

"Adaptable! That's what I said!"

"Klarion...focus."

Savage told him.

"I do what I want!"

The Lord of Chaos barked out at Savage.

A side eye from the Immortal and the Chaos Lord wilted slightly.

Klarion turned to face Ra's Al Ghul.

"The human gene is the most adaptable gene. Throw in a little chaos magic into the mix and the spirit energy not only stabilized the soul, it led to a transformation. A new being. One missing it's inherent humanity, yet more. We call them, Chaos Hollows."

"And what does attacking my forces accomplish?"

The Demon's Head asked.

"Well, that's an easy one. We need to feed it of course! It feeds on souls to grow stronger. Your shadows are like the perfect side dish. And when it is strong enough..."

"It is time."

Savage cut in, making the Gillian that was already pulsing with more energy than before, stiffen and turn towards a certain direction.

"...then it will move on to the main course."

Klarion concluded gazing at their creation with almost...a fondness.

"Kill him! Show that bastard what true chaos is!!"

The Gillian's head turned, it's black cloak flaring out, the mask on it's face glowing under the light of the burning buildings and trees surrounding them.

Ra's Al Ghul had done nothing but watch as 90% of his organization was destroyed.

Infinity Island, the headquarters of the League of Shadows...was in a deplorable state.

A cero, this one bigger than anything the Gillian had created before, begun forming infront of it's mouth.

This next attack however, was dangerous enough that there wouldn't even be ruins left of the Island.

The energy warped and twisted, compressing more and more power into a football sized red ball.

The target was the dojo that Shiva and Davian had been fighting in.

The cero wasted no time upon being released to cover the short distance.

Everything in its path went up in a fiery blaze.

The hollow energy inside engulfed the dojo in its entirety, decimating the wall behind the dojo and forming a crater that gave way to a massive groove on the side of the hill below the training yard.

Rocks fell into the tumultuous waters of the ocean as the island lost a huge chunk of itself.

The dust and smoke settled...and something could be seen.

A green shield was revealed, floating at the center of the mindless destruction.

Davian's cold eyes were full of anger as he looked around.

His eyes trailed over the massive Gillian looming over him.

Behind him was Shiva, not moving to attack despite Davian having his back to her.

"Truce?"

Davian offered, gripping Chesha Neko on his right hand and the sheath on his left.

Shiva looked around at the dead shadows. Her students...her colleagues. The culprit was easy enough to spot.

Vandal Savage.

"Truce."

She accepted.

"I shall lend you my weapon. Temporarily."

"No." Davian narrowed his eyes at Klarion and Savage.

"This is personal. My fight. Do not interfere."

Shiva blinked, looking at the strong back. The confident aura he exuded merely by standing in place.

Her lips opened slightly. Then a small smile appeared on her face.

"I see. Very well. Do not idle, we still have a fight to conclude."