Slay the God Eater (The Storm Calling)

Year 1025, 17th of October

Time: 12 P.M.

After a long night of fighting danger beasts of the highest caliber all night long into the wee hours of the morning, Raizo managed to find him a place to sleep in the midst of a cave hidden behind a thick brush of bushes to rest. When he managed to sit down hours ago and lay his head to rest, he instantly fell asleep without a moment's hesitation until he woke at midday. As the youth stirred, he partook of a small meal of bread and a small chunk of meat that the caretaker from the inn—John—provided for him the night before. Upon taking a sip of water from his canteen, Raizo packed the bag of his items and gathered his weapons to prepare for the next day in this forest.

"Damn, if the sun is up this high then that means it's around noon. I guess I didn't sleep that long," the male said to himself but he wasn't going to complain. At least he managed to sleep peacefully for whatever that was worth. Taking a moment to stretch his muscles, he observed his surroundings finding the fact that the forest was quiet to be rather interesting considering the evil that lurks within. He surmised that even the monsters needed some time to rest as well and that they only came out at night.

"All right, let's do this," he spoke aloud to motivate himself. Looking at the ground, he could see where his footsteps came from using that as a compass to point him in the proper direction. Taking off, the male began heading in the direction of his ideal destination casually brushing his way through tall grasses and bushes. Despite the fact that it was broad daylight, Raizo did not want to underestimate the unpredictable nature of this place. Who knows what kind of things would pop up during the day?

"What the hell is that?" he asked himself upon stepping into a small clearing where a path had been clear for him to follow. In the far distance going toward the mountains, he saw the sky blacken almost like it was night. Comparing that scenery to where he was currently located, it was almost as if day and night were occurring simultaneously. Upon closer inspection, he could see the darkness illuminating with flashes of light while the faint echoes of thunder reached his ears.

"Tch…gah…" the youth winced, reaching over his back and rubbing his left shoulder area. He felt a hot branding occur as pain washed over him from the nape of his neck down his back. This burning sensation, it was something that he hasn't felt in a long time. A storm was coming as Indra had said to him a few hours ago. He hasn't felt the negative effects of a naturally occurring weather event since the time Dr. Stylish attacked the old base for Night Raid's headquarters. Hell, not even that time when Godspeed showed up did he feel this way. After all, that stormy night leading to her arrival was just something she more than likely caused of her own volition. However, he felt something pulling at him as if calling out to his very soul. It was something dark and immensely sinister; an evil that he could not even begin to fathom. Just what kind of monster could radiate so much malice?

[Leviathan…]

A voice echoed inside Raizo's mind as he continued to walk down the clear path. It looks like Indra knew the source of this evil by the name but by the sound of it, it clearly could not be considered human. The Stormbringer didn't want to stand around talking because he wanted to keep a schedule so he continued advancing along the footpath in the general direction that the dark storm awaited.

"Who's that supposed to be Indra?" asked the male curiously. The thunder god within his mind then continued to speak.

[He's a terrifying creature that I thought I had long taken care of many millennia ago. It seemed that the premonitions I was warning you about have come to pass.]

"Terrifying creature? Looks like you've got some explaining to do on your part. What the hell are you getting me into?"

[It's going to be a rather long story. I do hope you can walk and listen carefully at the same time boy.]

"Don't insult me; just get on with it."

[Sorry, I couldn't resist.]

"Indra…"

[Ahem. Thousands of years ago back when all of humanity believed and worshipped in many different gods, there was a time in which the gods of various faiths squabble over who was the most powerful and which faith deserved more reverence and fear from you humans. Because of our avarice and ambition, various conflicts broke out between gods which later spread to mankind.

Every time we gods fought one another, it somehow affected the Earth in which mankind dwelled. Whether it was great changes in climate, floods, volcanic eruptions, drought, any sort of natural disaster, or unexplained phenomena you could think of, we gods were more than likely the cause of it. As such, humanity began to rebel against their beliefs feeling that the gods have abandoned them.

Wars broke out among mankind out of jealousy between lands that were more prosperous than others. Longtime grudges that were kept at bay due to a mutual understanding and cultural peace shattered as kingdoms declared war among one another. Heretics and other sacrilegious acts took place as some particularly violent tribes sought to pillage spreading disaster wherever they went. In addition, there were also heinous acts that led to the defiling of many sacred places that represented the harmony between Heaven and Earth.

It wasn't long until the war among us divine beings later spread to become a war against mankind as well. Though we gods managed to put aside our pride to get humanity under control, it wasn't long before the understanding we shared broke and the war continued among us again. As such, someone among us created a monster fueled by so much hatred and malice that it did not only instill fear in the hearts of man but also the divine as well.]

Indra paused for a moment to take a break from speaking and let all that he said sink inside Raizo's mind. The boy had continued to earnestly walk on the path as time ticked on inside of his head. He digested everything the holy being said to him in the depths of his mind. So gods fought and waged war on each other like humans too? So much for being the superior beings that religion made them out to be. It felt like something was passed on to humanity during their creation and was just passed along through DNA over the many years of the species' existence. Perhaps that was why humanity was so violent and hell-bent on war. Raizo didn't know but it was his honest thoughts that he did not bother saying aloud to Indra. Although, Indra could be reading his mind right now as it were. Oh well.

"So this beast that was created was Leviathan?" he inquired.

[Correct. Leviathan was the result of creating strife for both humans and gods alike. The beast terrorized the seas thus making it nigh impossible for mankind to cross many bodies of water. Perhaps that was why you humans thought the Earth was flat for so long. Every time ships traveled in a certain direction, they would never be seen ever again. Hence why mankind initially believed that if you sailed the seas for a certain period of time, you would fall off the face of the earth, but in reality, it was just humans becoming food for this monstrosity.

Mankind tried to disprove this by trying to figure out the real cause of the disappearance of so many vessels. It took the combined wisdom of three kingdoms putting their best fleets together to discover Leviathan's existence. Out of the 100 ships that were sent out, only 10 made it back to their respective homes. Soon, word of the creature's existence began to spread and who did humanity turn to? The very gods that they blasphemed and forsaken generations ago.

After so long of being loathed by the very people we gave life to, some gods took pity on humanity while others believed that mankind should just perish. Different gods from different cultures that wanted to fight for humanity's salvation went down to Earth to challenge Leviathan but as fate would have it, none of them returned.]

"What? You mean this monster was too much for gods and killed them?" Raizo asked astonished.

[Yes, that is correct. Leviathan did not just simply kill these gods; he devoured them. As a result, Leviathan's body grew as did his power. Some of us thought that it was just a fluke and that our brothers and sisters simply wanted to live in the human world thus abandoning the heavens. However, as these disbelievers soon found out, it was no fluke and they too died before contributing to the beast's power. As a result, every conflict that was going on between the faiths ended almost all at once. We gods had to band together in order to fight this monster but there was no way of doing so. Most of our divine power was greatly spent from fighting each other as well as the lack of love given by humans through prayer.

We were weak and frail, almost like humans ourselves with a few magic tricks. Having no choice, we all collectively turned to the Celestial and Primordial gods. These gods greatly transcended a majority of us Lesser earthly gods. They were our ancestors but none would hear it."]

"So what did you all do then?" Raizo inquired wanting to know more about this story. He wanted to learn more about this topic. After all, the fact that even the gods died to this beast meant that this potential encounter could truly be his last fight. No, he couldn't think that. He's fought against someone that had a similar reputation before and that turned out okay so what could go wrong? Hearing how Indra's tone became dismal though, he knew that this topic had to have brought up some painful memories. Perhaps it wasn't best to make light of this story.

[Believing in my own capabilities and the fact that I didn't depend on faith for power, I stepped up saying I would challenge the beast myself. I was young and confident. In addition, I had a blade with me that I prided myself in as the God of Storms and Seas.]

"Storms and Seas? Meaning you could manipulate the weather and control the oceans?"

[Yes. I could do all of that and freely use lightning and water as my primary elemental weapons. I told you that you were only scratching the surface of my power.]

"Fair enough, so what happened when you fought against Leviathan?"

[Well, unlike my predecessors, I lasted far longer against the beast. In fact, we fought for 100 years almost non-stop. Because of the impact that had on the weather as well as the behavior of the oceans, my brothers and sisters had to move our fight into a separate section of time and space after the first 10 years. It was the toughest fight of my life. Surprisingly, we were evenly matched. I think Leviathan was exhilarated from our fight as well as he never truly tried to kill me unless I got the upper hand. However, what ended our fight was a fatal wound by his bite on my arm.

It was a deciding blow because the beast contains so much poison that it can corrode a god from the inside out. After being bitten, I was forced to retreat but not before tossing my blade at the foul beast thus sealing him inside the dimensional space. Taking advantage of the fact that he could not escape, my siblings sealed the space off so that he would not escape. Once sealed, we were going to move on but I couldn't let myself back into our Eden with the poison on me so I had no choice. I ripped off my arm that held both the creature's miasma as well as my own wrath and cast it down to earth forming a beast that was of my power as well as the likeness of the creature that caused the injury.

"You mean the dragon that would later be slain by my ancestors that formed the Order of the Blood Wolves?!"

[Indeed. That was the very one that led to the creation of Indra's Judgment. The whole sorrow being the key to mastery was just born out of the fact that my sorrow as well as the malice of the miasma was too great for any normal individual. You had to be someone who carried a burden and knew what it was like to struggle. I encountered that for the first time in my life fighting against that damn beast. So not only did you have to be able to shoulder your own pain but mine as well. You being the bearer of my power is a testament to that fact. However, since I never finished my fight, it now passes onto you.

Raizo Arashi, Red-Eyed Stormbringer and Crimson Harbinger, you must reclaim my blade and defeat Leviathan once and for all. You must face the storm that is calling you and embrace the fate that comes with it. You must reach inside and bring forth the next step in the evolution of your power. It is your destiny.]

With that, Indra went silent leaving Raizo to think about that story and its conclusion. Destiny? Well, there's something that he wasn't expecting to hear in his life. He knew that there was a certain fate that he would eventually have to reside himself to but this was completely unexpected. What the hell did he get himself to when he drank the blood from that urn 6 years ago? It felt like his somewhat typical life of being an assassin was fading away with every unexplainable supernatural event that occurred in his life. He clutched his chest while he continued his walk toward that ephemeral darkness that was coming closer and closer.

"Do I really have the courage to face whatever this thing is?" He asked himself, doubting his ability for the first time ever. It was then that he violently shook his head. Doubt? There was something new. One thing he never really did before was doubt his abilities. Sure he had his down times but he never doubted himself or his self-worth. He underestimated himself but never doubt. He didn't do it before and he wasn't going to do it now. Hell no. This beast was going to be his greatest challenge yet and he was determined to meet it head on regardless of what the legends about this damned monster say.

"If I can't beat this bastard then how can I hope to stand with my family? It's been awhile since I had to push myself to the limit without help from anyone…. Let's see just what this challenge has in store for me," he spoke proudly.

-7 hours later-

Time: 7 P.M.

As the hours passed, the sun cascaded across the sky toward the west almost immediately disappearing behind the darkening skies in the western direction. Raizo didn't even get a chance to enjoy the sunset before deciding that he would go forth and meet this monster head on. He partook of another small meal a few hours back to suppress any sudden urges of hunger. As darkness began to seize the skies, he heard the dark, foreboding cries of the various species of danger beasts stir all around him. It was that time of night apparently but he couldn't afford to waste his strength fighting small fry…despite how fun it is.

He increased his pace as he neared a mountain pass that was taking him straight into this storm. The winds picked up intensely as the thunder echoed loudly in the clouds. Violent flashes of lightning occurred occasionally striking the Stormbringer's body. As a result of the change in weather, he was showing signs of weakness but he couldn't give up. The very beasts that kept an eye on him before kept their distance this time around. Most of them just appeared and looked at him carefully before backing down out of fear. It seemed that they knew what was in the air around them and felt like Raizo was the inadvertent cause of it. Looks like instinct told them to back off.

"Shit…" he cursed as he leaned against the base of the rock formation at the entrance to the mountain pass. The markings on Raizo's back began to glow radiantly from his back causing an intense burning sensation along the boy's flesh. It was then that he heard the bellowing of a hungering beast. It was completely different from the demons in the forest. In fact, it was the one he heard last night except now, it had the ability to form words.

{Indra…I know you are out there. I can smell your blood, accursed god}

"What the hell…is that voice?" asked the boy in a rough pant.

[It's Leviathan. He knows you're here because of my blood flowing through your veins. That bastard doesn't want to let things go.]

"So it would seem meaning I have no choice but to kill this son of a bitch. Where is he then?" Raizo asked struggling to his feet peering around at his surroundings. Indra's voice echoed in his mind in response.

[Leviathan is still sealed in the Unseen Realm. I thought he would be over a body of water but it seems like the land has shifted greatly over the centuries. Take the pass up to the point where the miasma feels strongest.]

Having no choice but to follow the voice of the divine presence in his head, Raizo agreed beginning to walk on the path once more. His breathing felt heavier and heavier with each step as he gradually advanced along the trail. Despite the disturbance of the weather above his head, never once did it begin to rain. Thunder and lightning had their way with the blackened skies above as the illumination of the clouds by the arcs of electricity appeared like the skies were being cracked open. Raizo continued moving forward unwavering and determined to face this fight with all he had.

{Closer…you're getting closer Indra. Oh how I have waited for this day for more than a millennia. I shall finally have my revenge against you and break free from this wretched prison. Once more mankind will know the face of true terror. Hahahaha…}

"Damn, this guy really doesn't know when to shut the fuck up," Raizo huffed in a prompt sigh of irritation.

[Well, I suppose there was a reason why so many people failed at utilizing my power before you.]

Raizo chuckled at the god's joke. It was a nice, subtle distraction from the pain. The youth didn't want to focus too much on such frivolous things like pain and the imagination of this beast. He just had to face this thing like he has done so many times before. Just another obstacle to overcome--that's what his life has amounted to ever since that dark day. After about fifteen minutes, he came to an area in the pass where a cave was open. It was here that the sinister air leaked from the strongest.

"This is it." He thought to himself before walking inside.

After a brisk walk, he came out of the came to see something he wasn't expecting. There was a large body of water open before him vast like an ocean. Seeing so much water was something that was entirely new to the youth but he couldn't bask in the beauty of it forever. Studying his surroundings, he saw that he was on a sandy beach. Turning around, he saw that the entrance had disappeared completely and he was now surrounded by various trees of different shapes and sizes as well small plateaus dotted along the coast and out into the water. Given the organization of the landmasses, it appeared that he was on a small isolated chain of islands.

Looking directly up at the skies, he saw millions of stars clustered together as if the entirety of the cosmos had become viewable. Various hues of red, blue, purple, green and such filled in for color. No matter how beautiful it was this clearly wasn't a natural setting meaning that he was not in his own world anymore but the place known as the Unseen Realm. Before he could even take a chance to thoroughly explore the area, the ground began to violently shake. The magnificent, bedazzled sky was blanketed by a spiral of darkening storm clouds reminiscent of what the skies appeared on the outside. As soon as the change in the serenity of the air began, the waters began to violently shift. The water crashed violently against the shore that the youth stood.

Jumping to higher ground, Raizo watched as the waters began to twist and turn into each other creating a whirlpool before his eyes. Clueless, the Stormbringer had no choice but to wait and see what would happen. The evil that he had been feeling for the past few hours voraciously surged in the air rendering the youth helpless as he buckled down to one knee on top of the pillar of stone that he was on. The entire space quaked as slowly but surely, a massive shape began to rise from the aquatic depths before hovering above the surface.

A giant beast soon towered above the area at an astonishing 700 feet (about 213 meters) high—Leviathan. Three long necks split from his body with three heads, each shaped like a dragon with two horns. His immensely sharp teeth were on full display appearing like massive hook-shaped broadswords ready to tear anything to shreds. The body of the beast was completely adorned in sand colored scales hardened like steel. Even his underbelly looked like it was covered in a hard metal. From what the youth could see, the beast's back from head down to the tip of his massive spear-like tail was traced with black, teeth-like spines. Everything about the monster's appearance was like a giant made of swords. He could hardly imagine what the claws of this thing were like.

As the desert-skinned, draconic beast finished his ascension above the water's surface, three pairs of malicious, bright yellow eyes all affixed their gaze downward upon the youth. Raizo's crimson hues stared back at the serpentine marbles of the beast looming above. Gradually, those heads leaned down closing in on his position as if trying to get a better look. Soon, Raizo had three dragon heads encroaching around him as though they were studying him trying to ascertain everything they could perceive from sight and smell.

All was quiet. The storm above actually dissipated but darkness still blanketed the skies and the waves were a lot calmer. It was then that the dragon took a deep breath before grinning. Licking his lips three different times, an acidic drool leaked out before hitting the water and evaporating in a toxic miasma.

{What brings a human who stinks of my most hated foe into my domain?}

The beast asked with a curious tone but he still felt disdain toward the boy's presence. After all, he killed humans as leisurely as he did with gods so it wasn't like he failed to distinguish between the two. Suddenly, a radiant light beamed from the boy's back in the shape of angelic wings. This being the symbol of Indra's presence never radiated like this before. It was then that Indra began to speak but not confined within Raizo's head; somehow, the god began addressing Leviathan as if he was standing right beside Raizo.

[It's been a long time Leviathan. You're still as hideous and grotesque as I recall. How have the past couple of centuries treated you while being confined in this pocket dimensional space?]

{Indra, it certainly has been a long time. I see these past thousand years or so hasn't done anything to fix that vanity and cockiness of yours since the day we last fought. Tell me, why are you inside this human child?}

[I find it funny that you ask that considering how our battle left off. Though I did manage to bind you inside this space, you just about killed me. I actually had to sever off my arm where you bit me and leave it on Earth. That later manifested into what the humans of this boy's world calls a danger beast. However, that only staved off any immediate effects.

My body is still being healed in slumber though my astral form descended back to Earth linking my presence to the monster until the humans killed it. Take the blood from a divine beast and turn it into a weapon called a teigu and here we are a thousand years later with me being a part of this boy.]

{I see, so my bite did have a lingering little effect. No wonder why I constantly felt your presence for generations. You weren't back in the heavens; you were still down here on Earth. Even in this wretched place, I could still sense you. It angered me greatly, especially with this damn thing in my hand being a reminder of what you did to me.}

Leviathan raised a limb out of the water showing Raizo his massive hand with razor sharp talons. Lodged in his flesh was an object in the shape of a sword. Electrical pulses spiraled around it alongside wisps of water; this was the blade that Indra used to fight off the monster in the god's story. Raizo raised his eyebrow as he observed the hand before it was submerged back into the water.

[Even after so long, you still haven't managed to remove that blade? Oh Leviathan, how fate must despise you. Then again, only someone of my power can remove the blade though it will most certainly mean your death. I am the one destined to kill you as it were. So either I come back to finish the job or this boy here does it for me.]

{HAHAHA! Now that's the funniest thing I've heard in centuries! As if a lowly human would be capable of using the blade of a god, let alone be able to kill me! My poison must have made you delusional beyond reason Indra.}

[You say this now yet you do not know the power that resides within him.]

{Well it has been quite some time since I've had entertainment. All right human, let's see what you can do.}

Leviathan then pulled all three of his heads away from Raizo now hovering over the boy on all three sides. Raizo swiftly took off his cloak and his bag tossing them to the side. He then reached to his sides grabbing both of his precious swords knowing that he finally had a worthy opponent to use them on for once. Taking a stance, his red eyes began to glow brightly as the dark indigo trails lined down his cheeks. His hair began to ignite with blue electricity as his body was dyed in an illustrious, cerulean blue aura that covered him from head to toe. The same color discharged as bolts of electricity from his body as he transformed.

"Fury of the Storm!" he shouted believing firmly that he should not even try to hold back an ounce of his strength as he was faced with such a terrifying foe. Indra's power welled up inside him greatly pushing to greater output than the first time he used this state against Budou. He was facing a foe that was almost as terrifying in presence as Vesta. There was no point pulling punches, he had no choice but to go all out from the start.

{Oh? So you do have Indra's power inside you human? This might be fun after all! Come human! Show me what a human imbued with a god's power can do!}

"Don't mind if I do!" Raizo shouted gathering strength into his legs before taking off jumping straight up in the air towards Leviathan. He charged in head first going straight for an opening strike on the head in the middle identifying it mentally as number 2. He crossed his blades in an 'X' shape going straight for right under the creature's jaw but heads 1 and 3 came from the left and right respectively at the same time causing the youth to have to block at the same time.

"Shit," he cursed while stretching his arms out holding off both heads with his blades. This allowed Leviathan to back away with his middle head going in for a strike by trying to bite down on the youth. Thinking quickly, Raizo gathered strength to his arms and propelled himself in the air before 1 and 3 separated to allow number 2 to attack. As the motions from the beast chained together as he had expected, Raizo listed seamlessly in the air for a hang time of two seconds before diving downward at the middle head. He twisted his body around spinning like a tornado with his blades going straight for the beast's neck.

"You're wide open!" Raizo shouted bringing his steel swords into the beast's neck using speed and channeling lighting into the weapon's surface to give them some extra cutting power through the hard scales. However, all he did was just cut really deep but nothing else. Blood was drawn though as they stained his blades, but the crimson pools reeked of miasma causing steam to rise and heat to travel up and down his armaments. In that next instant, he backed off by jumping towards the ground.

{You got a hit in but you won't be getting away that easily!}

Leviathan used this chance to attack Raizo from behind but how? Raizo had to be moving faster than the beast should be able to keep up with after all. Thinking it was a fluke, Raizo just skipped backward along the ground as Leviathan struck one head after the other trying to grab the youth with his jaws. Running out of ground to traverse, Raizo held steady. When the next barrage came in, Raizo put all of his force behind his swings to drive off the beast countering with the same amount of insane, supernatural power canceling out the strikes. As the beast attacked over and over, Raizo seemed to be deflecting each attack. However, that wouldn't last for very long.

SHING!

Raizo batted away all three heads as Leviathan was coerced into reeling back for a moment. Using this chance, Raizo charged at the beast faster than light swinging at the third head from under the neck once more. This time, Raizo drove his blades through the beast's flesh with some resistance but he managed to sever one of Leviathan's heads off. In that next moment, Raizo quickly went to finish what he started with the middle head by cleaving through the flesh exposed by the wound he left before. As he did, two heads were now cut off but before he could go for the remaining one, Leviathan swatted him down all the way crashing into the beach.

Miasma and blood flowed everywhere as Leviathan writhed in pain. The monster had his yellow eyes locked on the Stormbringer's location as he growled angrily. The dust from the impact soon dissipated and Raizo recovered with his blue aura blazing strongly. The youth saw the headless necks dangling around as he cocked a smirk. Flinging his arms to the side, the hot liquid splashed into the sand.

"Two down, one to go. Is this really all that you've got monster? I thought you were supposed to be a God Eater or something. How disappointing," Raizo mocked but Leviathan soon began to laugh off what the boy had said.

{You're quite amusing human. I didn't think I'd actually lose two heads in a fight before. Congratulations, you managed to do something that no one has ever done before but I'm afraid your laughing will stop as of now.}

"What the hell are you talking…what?!" Raizo was about to say before he saw something that caused him to yell in shock. The two headless necks began twitching violently and where the heads were removed, the wounds had begun to bubble over. Feeling compelled to watch, Raizo witnessed those necks suddenly breakdown and split into two. As that happened, four new heads had formed creating a total of five heads that Leviathan now possessed. The Crimson Harbinger was left wide-eyed as his mouth gapes open in disbelief and horror. How was this even possible right now? He wanted Indra's thoughts on this but it appeared that even the god inside him had no words to say in regard to this situation.

{The look on your face right now human is priceless. Are you that shocked right now that I had a power like this? Of course you might but the god inside you should not be. I'm a hydra, a creature with an ability to regenerate my heads any time one of them is severed. With me, each time you cut off my head two more will take its place! What will you do now spawn of Indra?!}

This was bad, really bad. If Raizo kept severing the beast's heads and they kept coming back two at a time, there was no telling how many heads Leviathan could wind up with. There had to be a more permanent solution. Perhaps if he was to sever all of them in rapid succession then maybe he could kill the beast. That sounded like a good strategy but just when he was about to settle on it, he was cut off again.

{Surprise human.}

It was then that Leviathan had appeared right before Raizo on the beach standing in the water. What just happened? The dragon was standing at least 250 feet away when he was slapped back all the way to his current location. In the course of literally less than a second, the monster was standing over him. Beads of sweat dotted Raizo's brow from his nerves acting up. Five pairs of yellow eyes were locked onto the boy's location as acidic saliva dripped from the teeth of the monster. Instinctively, Raizo crossed his blades in a guarded position readying himself for whatever came next.

Time seemed to slow down in the youth's head as he carefully studied the eyes of each head staring at him. He was mentally preparing himself for an onslaught of attacks from the five heads. Going from left to right beginning with the head he failed to cut off, he appropriately numbered them 1 to 5. He would try his best to use his speed to take them all out but if this beast could move quickly like he could, he would just have to be faster. Going for the middle was a bad idea so the best idea was to go for number 1.

Raizo took off in the blink of an eye heading to the far left straight at Leviathan. All five heads rose simultaneously into the air. Jumping after that particular head, Raizo took flight immediately after it while the other four heads seemed to give chase. As each one tried to nip at his feet, he swatted them away with his blades one after another before using the last one as a stepping stone to boost himself up at that head. Crossing his blades like scissors, he would not miss this opportunity to cut off the first head.

SLICE!

There it went falling down to the beach below with miasma oozing from the wound. With no signs of regeneration taking place, Raizo immediately targeted the remaining four heads. Without further delay, he kicked off the air going one head after the other slicing two more off but it was then that he was batted away by Leviathan's immensely long tail. With great force enough to break the sound barrier, Raizo crashed through a small plateau and into the water. This knocked the wind out of the youth temporarily but the recovery powers enhanced by his Fury state allowed him to quickly snap out of his daze and swim to the surface of the water. But it would all be for naught as Leviathan was given ample enough time to regenerate his heads but this time growing six more. This brought the total number of heads to eight.

"Damn it…" he spat jumping on top of the nearest rock surface jutting out of the water. Eight pairs of eyes, totaling 16, were not staring his way as the monster mocked the boy with more evil laughter. How many heads was this monster going to have before he stopped? Surely he couldn't go above eight now right? Raizo was unsure what to think right now but he had to just keep going and keep trying to kill this bloody beast once and for all.

Leviathan charged at Raizo quickly once again but this time, the dragon went on the offensive with its heads by immediately attacking one after the other on the boy's position. Raizo had little time to evade so he used his blades to block as best he could while occasionally using whatever room he had left to strafe back and forth so that he would not be hit. However, the plateau he was standing on had been crumbling due to the rapid assault meaning Raizo would lose evasion room. Knowing this, Leviathan raised all eight hands appearing to attack at once. When the Stormbringer took off to the left towards the island, the monster managed to trick the boy by sweeping his tail around and slapping the blue blur out into the sea. Instantly, Leviathan took off after him and brought his tail around slapping the helpless youth back toward the shore.

"GAAAH!!" Raizo yelled out from the pain feeling his bones break one after the other. His healing was just barely keeping up with his injuries. Every time he was hit, a bone or two broke then more broke after that when he collided with any hard surface. Slamming against a rock surface on the island, Leviathan dashed over waiting for the youth to regain himself taking great joy in this match. This gave Raizo time to recover, however, he felt himself getting tired as the match carried on. The amount of effort Raizo's body was going through to regenerate every part of his body that was badly damaged was taking away from his stamina leading to some early signs of fatigue.

"No, I refuse to let myself get tired right now. I have to bring this bastard down. I can't give in just yet!" Raizo spoke in his mind, trying to keep himself motivated. The jeering stares of Leviathan examined him as he stood on the sands before the monster. Focusing his energy, his blue aura grew, gathering up even more energy. He was powering himself up for the next barrage. Without even giving so much as a sign, the dragon's tail came from the right side. Thinking quickly, Raizo crossed his swords to embrace the impact. As soon as the tail collided, the blood wolf absorbed the blow as best he could while sliding back in the sand from the pressure of the motion. However, he was not expecting what was coming next.

CRACK!

The blades that he was holding was reaching their limit as pieces of metal began to chip off one after another. Hearing this, Leviathan quickly adjusted the motion of his tail by jerking it back then swinging full force and in that next moment…Raizo's blades had shattered completely to pieces. Caught off guard by the sudden event, the boy was sent flying into the air once more but Leviathan followed up his tail hit by slamming the youth into the ground with his hand.

CRASH!

A loud yet muffled explosion ensued as Raizo was left in a ten foot deep hole in the shape of the monsters draconic claws. With the new rupture in the ground, the water came rushing in to fill it up with Raizo still inside at the bottom. The youth was in shock not from the hits but the fact that his most beloved blades had been rendered to tiny metallic pieces by the beast. Assana…forgive me. Despair washed over him in that next moment as the pieces were carried away by the tide. Left only with the hilts and knife-long stubs of steel, Raizo was basically disarmed. He had lost his scythes and now his swords. The weapons that he put so much pride in while being an assassin for the Blood Wolves were now lost to him.

As the water filled the pit, Raizo's body gradually rose to the surface with a grim expression on his face. Leviathan stood over him casting his glare upon the youth. His eight heads lowered to examine the youth chastising him with that monstrous gaze he had. Examining Raizo's condition, the dragon knew that he wasn't dead but he was beaten pretty badly. Most of the inflicted injuries had been gradually healing though the beast could see that he was approaching his limit. A sinister chuckle then escaped from him.

{Is this really all that a human blessed by a god's power has to offer me? Indra, you disappoint me with this boy. After coming this far and having my blood boil from the anticipation of battle, I am nowhere near satisfied!}

The words rang in Raizo's ears burying deep inside his brain. This could not end. He had to shut this damn creature down somehow. He wanted to show the beast what it meant to feel the sting of defeat but his Fury state was being pushed to its limit. How long had this fight been going on? It felt like hours had passed even though the clashing between man and beast imbued with great speed more than likely equated to less time than what he felt. Raizo hoisted himself out of the water and stood on the damp sands. Taking the hilts of his broken blades, he sheathed them back at his sides knowing that he could not use them anymore.

"I should have just used this from the beginning," he uttered powering up once again. Stretching his arms out to his sides, lightning channeled to his palms dividing into six small pillars. As they began to take a more refined shape, Leviathan witnessed the shape of six swords be forged between the youth's fingers. The Stormbringer decided that it was time to start using his arsenal that he was using against those danger beasts last night as well as a few techniques that he has never done before or had a chance to use.

"Talons of Judgment – Six Claws!" he shouted out after brandishing the six columns of lightning in his hands. Refocused, Raizo was ready to continue to fighting against the monster. Leviathan appeared intrigued by this technique. Feeling the youth's determination, he was ready to continue his battle against the boy. Raizo burst from the ground charging straight at Leviathan with max speed.

{COME HUMAN!}

The beast roared excitedly from the motion. Raizo went in swinging at the monster's heads defying gravity by gliding in the air using momentum gained from swinging his weapons. In that next moment, Leviathan began using his heads like whips by sending one after the other at the charging youth. Raizo swerved between the strikes by backing off taking time to dodge occasionally bringing his electrical claws about and scratching at the monster's scales. Streaks of blue and white were left upon the demon's skin as a result but the reptilian beast managed to strip away the boy's flesh with his sharp spines.

Falling back, Raizo was now forced to try and close in on the monster once more but Leviathan wasn't going to let that happen. Like a rapid-fire projectile weapon, dragon heads were thrust toward him one after another. The cerulean blur fended off each attack desperately by using his six swords to try and deflect each one that got too close and gave him no room to dodge. One after the other, the heads came in as both fighters' speeds surpassed light speed. Any regular person trying to observe this fight would not be able to keep up with their movements at all.

Electrical steel clashed against draconic steel as the clanging of metal and rapid chirping birds echoed in the Unseen Realm. Faster and faster the hits occurred. Soon loud bursts of thunder happened with each impact as the sound barrier was broken over 100 fold. Suddenly, Leviathan withdrew his heads back and opened all eight of his jaws. A caustic, bright green shade welled up from the depths of his throat as flaming miasma then rushed outward toward the youth. Indra immediately yelled out inside Raizo's mind

[Watch out boy!]

"Son of a bitch…" Raizo gritted his teeth dashing backwards as the venomous and gaseous flames seemed to dissolve away anything and everything to nothingness. The youth was now further away from his target as a result of evading the poisonous breath. Damn it all… He knew this was bad. Every time there was a great distance between him and Leviathan, the dragon would close the gap using the same speed that Raizo possessed but would immediately follow up with an attack. Knowing the monster's patterns now, Raizo wasn't going to let himself be surprised this time.

Taking off across the now 40% scorched island's surface, Raizo had his six swords ready for the next attack. Bursting to his maximum speed, the male jumped high into the air at the eight-headed beast. Instead of going for a strike with his weapons, he instead threw them directly at the monster. In six random areas around the monster, a large circle of light appeared connected by the six blades. Raizo's hands were now completely free to do something else. Confused, Leviathan looked around then focused on the youth trying to bat him down.

"Too slow," Raizo said evading the beast's strikes. His hands extended outward directly over the monster.

"Scorch Torrent!" Raizo shouted out. Chains of lighting were discharged from his hands striking the armored monstrosity across his metallic scales. The staggering power of the volts of electricity were amplified by the fact that Leviathan was partially submerged in water and his energized blades acted as lightning rods thus channeling even more energy. Unlike before when he was in his 'Calm' state while fighting the danger beasts, his 'Fury' state amplified the potency of the discharged electricity as well as increased in the number of lightning bolts discharged. After a solid five seconds of shock factor, Raizo ceased his attack. Leviathan was dazed but he quickly shook himself free of the paralyzing state.

{That actually stung a little human, but you're wide open!}

The monster flung his heads back at the youth but Raizo simply smirked and kicked off the oncoming dragon's face to launch high into the air. The creature seemed to forget that the blades were still around his body. Making a motion with his hands like he was pulling something up, the circle rose up Leviathan's body casually before binding his eight necks in the electrical seal. Now bounded by the blades, the beast began to panic unsure of what was happening.

"I got you now," Raizo smirked as he descended landing on top of the field right next to a sword. He gripped the handle of that sword as his blue aura grew from being charged by the area. Leviathan fixed his gaze on Raizo's position growling in anger from being bound like this.

{Wretched human, you dare try to imprison me like some wild beast?}

"Last I heard you are a wild beast. One so wild that he had to be confined in his own dimension so he'd stop terrorizing mankind and gods alike so…yeah I dare," Raizo replied in a condescending tone.

{You worm, this won't keep me forever!}

"It's not meant to. Just long enough for me to do this," Raizo retorted. The youth then closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. This had to be the decisive blow. He was feeling tired and immensely drained from this fighting. It was hard to believe that such a brute could match him blow for blow.

"My blades will strike true to the end," Raizo uttered in a chant, "Absolute Blade Trance Version 1: Adamant Waltz!"

The Crimson Harbinger took a firm grip of his lightning blade then disappeared from sight. He charged at the beast with his ridiculous speed bursting forth aiming at one of the heads while traveling to another point in the circle. As he did, he grabbed the second blade and traveled to the third swinging at another head. He did so over and over until he reclaimed all six blades. Once he had obtained them, he jumped high into the sky and nose dived straight down the middle of the beast landing in the water with so much force that the sea had parted. Before being enveloped by the rapids, he jumped onto another plateau and waited to see the fruits of his labor.

{ROOOOOOOOAAAHHHHH!!!!}

Leviathan's roar thundered ferociously in the skies. Keeping his eyes trained on the beast, he saw jagged pale blue streaks of light appear all over the body of the beast. One after the other, the heads of the dragon dropped into the ocean but to Raizo's surprise, they stopped at five!

"What? I should have hit him seven times! One for each head totaling six then the last one to sever the last two at once!" the youth cried out but only five heads were gone. The last three were just scarred severely and the monster's tail had been cut as well. Wait, the tail? That had to be it. When Raizo soared in the air for the final strike, Leviathan must have sacrificed his tail to protect himself. This was not by any means a good situation.

{I never thought I would be taken to a point where I have 13 heads out at once. I underestimated you human. You really are a worthy opponent. I can see why Indra chose you now. Tell me boy, what is your name?}

"Raizo…Arashi," the youth answered hesitantly unsure of what was going to happen next.

{How appropriate considering your power[i]. Well then Raizo Arashi, this fight has truly been an invigorating experience; however, I'm afraid that it is time for me to kill you using the same kindness you showed me.}

With his 13 heads, Leviathan quickly closed in on Raizo's location. During this time, the youth's power was beginning to waver; the dissipation of his electric blades testified to this fact. In the next moment, the dragon brought his newly regenerated tail around sweeping the boy and knocking him up in the air. Without anything to protect himself save for his blue aura, the blood wolf bore the full brunt of that attack. Following up with that, Leviathan struck the helpless boy's body with one head after the other juggling him in the air. The combined hits between the dragon's teeth and razor sharp scales tore away at the flesh of the male soon tearing his clothes up leaving him in tatters.

After nearly 30 seconds of these blows that came at Raizo from every direction, the battered boy was then slammed into the ground by that cursed tail. Leviathan then used his tail to pick Raizo up curling his body within the hard-scaled clutches trying to crush him before slamming him into the ground again. Screams of agony came from the poor lad after every major hit he took. His regenerative powers desperately tried to keep pace with the wounds trying to heal the dislocated bones, fractures, internal bleeding, as well as other broken bones and scarred tissue but new injuries were being dealt to the boy as quickly as old wounds healed.

When Leviathan stopped battering the boy into paste, Raizo was spread out on the sandy shoreline dyed in dirt, sand, and blood. The salt from the water burned his wounds immensely causing the flesh to sizzle as a result. The youth could hardly maintain his consciousness as the powers from Fury of the Storm gradually began to fade. The shadow of the monster was over him as 13 pairs of yellow eyes glared at him out of disdain, amusement and sadistic joy. One of the hydra's heads leaned close to the youth letting a drop of the poison that coursed through the reptilians body drop onto him and seep into his blood. It was then that Leviathan took his hand—the one that had the sword sticking out of it and began to cover the boy so that the human child could not escape and so he could feel the writhing of agony beneath him.

It hurts…it hurts so damn much! I feel like I'm being eaten from the inside out! The youth cried out so much that he began to lose his voice. He hasn't felt this much intense pain before in his life. It was like a new and horrific experience for him. Being shot to death during his execution was a walk in the park compared to this. Is this what victims of Murasame feel like after they are cut by that blade?

[Not even Murasame's curse is as powerful as this. The poison is potent yes but what you are feeling is not only that but the darkness of all living things. Sorrow, hate, anger, fear, death, doom, suffering and pestilence are just some of the things that are concentrated in this poison. It is every possible negative aspect that exists in life combined that's attacking every part of your body down to your cellular structure itself.

My power is adapting and counteracting against the more curable factors like the poison and the disease but the darkness of the living still remains and that will scar your heart. Now you see why so many gods died to this beast. We are weakened by the darkness of the human heart as well as the things mankind fears but we are strong with their love, faith and reverence.]

There had to be a way to fight back. There had to be a way to overcome this. Raizo thought back to all of the experiences that he has had and how no matter how bad things seemed, he always came out stronger for it in the end. From the time he lost his clan all the way up until now, he recalled every bad moment in his life and what he did to become the strong person that he is today. In just six years of his life, he came so far but was this really the end? Could he truly allow himself to die here?

The faces of the ones he cared about flashed through his mind as he saw everyone's smiles but he couldn't draw on them for strength now given recent events. It was then that he began seeing three other figures in his mind. The first being a more mature version of Akame, the second one having similar features with a red hood, and the last being one he could call his older brother. They were his allies of another world and his family that he knew would support him no matter what. Their faces lingered in his mind with smiles thinking of how proud they were of him. After all, he was like the little brother of the family. He wanted to be strong like them.

"Damn it all…"

The youth gritted his teeth as his mind seemed to drift off.

"Am I really this pathetic? Is this really the limit of my abilities? I…don't want to die here. Not now but…is this it? Was I really not meant to be on your level then? You entrusted me with the task of protecting my own world but how can I do that if this is all I have?!!! WHY AM I STILL SO WEAK?!"

It was then that the vision of Vesta came to his mind and the outcome of the fight if he had truly been weak. It was like his mind was trying to play him right now. It showed her devouring his power leaving him weak before killing everyone he ever cared about. They all died such horrible deaths from being ripped in half to being disintegrated by her lightning. The screams and bloodied cries of death swelled in his mind.

"Stop it…"

The visions continued flashing through his mind faster and faster.

"I said stop it…"

They kept coming at him more and more until it ultimately showed him being killed by her and his world being destroyed.

"I SAID STOP!!!!!"

As if on command, the visions soon faded away. The sting of tears flowed down the boy's cheeks. The face of Vesta remained as well as those he fought beside to kill her. There they were standing side by side in front of him ready to take her down. The memories of that fight came one after the other of how they worked together to beat her, including the boy himself. A female's voice echoed in his mind, the same nurturing voice he had heard some time ago.

"You're stronger than you realize. I know it, you know it and so does everyone else who loves you. This isn't going to be the end of you. It's just another step you have to take in order to get closer to the greatness that is promised to you. Now show me what you're made of… Stormbringer of the Seventh Cycle."

Snapping back to reality, Raizo felt a second wind fill his lungs. The pain was intense and the strain on his mind was great but he could not give up. He saw the hilt of the object that was lodged in Leviathan's hand. Slowly but surely, Raizo reached for it. Seeing the boy struggle to grab hold of it, the hydra smiled.

{Oh you're going to do me a favor before you die? Hahahaha okay boy! Go ahead and pull this thing out. That just means I'll be one step closer to being freed from here!}

The dragon willingly let the boy reach for the blade but the monster would come to regret that decision. As Raizo grabbed hold of the handle, the boy's scarred hand pulled trying to yank the item free. He pulled and pulled harder and harder. He was giving it his all as he wanted to take this item before his 'Fury' state faded and all of the strength left his body.

[COME ON RAIZO!]

Indra yelled words of encouragement inside his mind. The Stormbringer gave it one final pull before the item came out of the creature's hand causing the youth to land on his back in the sand. Confused, Leviathan backed off to observe what was happening. Raizo lay completely still with the object in his hand. The youth seemed to be breathing but his heart rate was extremely slow. It seemed like this was the end as the darkness of the miasma had still been corroding him, but suddenly, something began to happen.

The ocean began to stir up once more as the water seemed to flow in a current that rotated clockwise around the island. In addition, the black storm clouds above began to spiral in the same direction. Rumbles of thunder could be heard while purple flashes of lightning began to spark out. Unsure of what was going on, Leviathan's heads looked around in all different directions to ascertain the cause of it all. Then the ground began to shake under the beast's feet. In a flash, the bolts of electricity began to strike the body of the youth.

{What the hell is going on?!}

The beast began to panic backing away slowly. Feeling the water drag at him, the monster quickly leapt to the center of the island watching as bolt and bolt of thunder struck the seemingly unconscious boy. Raizo's aura began to build again as the wounds on the boy's body began to heal. The miasma effect was starting to fade drastically while the globs of poison and malevolence were expelled from the body of the dying human being. Raizo's eyes opened widely showing the bright crimson hues. Carefully he began to stand.

{WHAT?! IT CANNOT BE!}

The dragon bellowed in disbelief but he could not get close to try and stop the assassin from getting up. The item in Raizo's hand began to take shape of a sword at least 4 ½ feet in length. The handle was a solid 8 inches in length as well. The blade was black and silver while the hilt was white and gold. Where the blade and hilt met was a unique guard that had a mysterious jewel inside that was radiating an amethyst color. On the end of the hilt was a golden circle with a strange red ribbon hanging from it. It seemed to be channeling power to the youth.

"HAAAAAAAAA!" the Crimson Harbinger began to howl as his power grew. The lightning struck once more as the aura around Raizo began to change. From the cerulean blue hue that it was while in the current state, it deepened in color before shifting to an ominous shade of purple. The indigo trail markings on the boy's face became more violet while the crimson irises shifted to a lighter tint becoming a rose color that could be construed as a darker pink. The black pair of his hair became more illuminated glowing like a charcoal gray while the white part of his hair became glossy. Arcs of violet and purple electricity spiraled around the boy from head to foot.

{What is this?! What's happening to this human? Curses Indra, what did you do?!}

[I did nothing Leviathan. You're the one who let him grab onto my weapon—Vajra—the very weapon that can kill you. There was a reason why I chose this boy; his raw potential and his will power are enough for him to far exceed the boundaries of any human or demigod. At this point, this boy just might become a god himself!]

"No matter what obstacle is before me, no matter what destiny has in store for me, I will be the one to control my own fate. You tried to instill darkness into my heart and make me feel fear and despair. Just who the hell do you think I am? My name is Raizo Arashi. In the face of fear, I won't forget everything and run. I will Face Everything and Rise!"

[HEART OF THE STORM!]

A barrage of lightning struck down at once upon Raizo's body. As the light faded to restore regular vision to the beast, all that was seen was a purple blur that was engulfed around the boy that he almost killed before. Rose-colored irises pierced through the very core of the monster. Leviathan was at a complete loss for words. The male gripped the blade and swung it once discharging a massive gust of wind that cleaved the surface of the island and split the sea surrounding the landmass. So much power had been given to the youth in the course of a matter of seconds.

"Now then Leviathan, let's finish this battle," Raizo said calmly before racing forward. With a great rush of speed that surpassed the speeds of Fury of the Storm in what could only be understood as massively faster than light, Raizo had begun chopping off the heads of the beast one after the other not caring whether or not they regenerated. Sure enough as he did, multiples of two began ensued to replace them as a result.

{Damn you boy! You're causing too many heads of mine to grow!}

"I know," Raizo said slashing a few more times before floating in the air before Leviathan. After he was done, the serpentine monster now had 52 heads. Examining them, he could tell that despite the number, now he was weakened. To compensate for the regeneration and growth of each head, Raizo saw that layers of armor were gradually sacrificed. So even though regeneration increased, the difficulty behind decapitation decreased.

"So you do have less armor after all? Now I can put an end to your wretched existence," the youth said with a cold and ruthless tone. Raizo drew a circle in the air thinking he could manipulate the lightning but what he didn't expect was giant limbs of water to appear and grab hold of the monster along with chains of lighting tying around the various dragon heads like collars. It surprised him but he had no time to experiment. Suddenly, words began to flow from Raizo's lips.

"I am the one destined to split the heavens,

The voice of the one that blessed my body with thunder,

The tears of the vanquished flows in my blood with lightning,

With resolute and unbreakable will, I shall transcend my foes,

Unaware of limitations, nor aware of doubt;

The chains of fear shall be broken,

I cast myself to be free in the Absolute Blade Trance,

Open, Cosmic Foundry!"

In that next instant, the entire realm seemed to shift. Raizo and Leviathan were seemingly transferred into a different space that was similar yet different at the same time. There was a spiraling storm in the skies that was taking place with thunder and lightning occurring simultaneously, yet upon closer inspection something else was heard. Steel being banged upon like being in a massive blacksmith shop could be heard. With each impact, a flash of light occurred and a lightning bolt in the shape of a blade was stuck in the ground. It happened again and again until there was hundreds, no thousands, no tens of thousands of blades laid around. The air surrounding the space was covered by walls of blades. Everything in this space was consumed by blades.

{Where the hell are we?!!!}

"This is the Cosmic Foundry. Ironically, this was the original version of Adamant's Waltz that I wanted to use but I could never figure out how to generate more than six blades at a time. Even with Fury of the Storm, the most I could get was six blades. Well, I had 10 one time but they were immensely fragile. However, thanks to this new form, I'm able to do what I originally wanted to do: create an entire alternate universe comprised of blades."

{UNIVERSE?!}

"Yes, a universe of lightning-imbued swords. If I were to send you flying beyond this blackened sky, I imagine that there would only be more blades. You cannot escape unless you kill me but I doubt that will happen seeing as I can do this."

Raizo stepped forward once and disappeared before reappearing at a blade next to Leviathan. He did it again and again until it looked like there were a thousand clones of him surrounding the beast. Each blade was acting as a marker to which Raizo could instantly teleport. There was no escape whatsoever in this place for the boy could be anywhere he wanted within striking distance of his enemy whenever he wanted. Leviathan tried to breathe his caustic breath on Raizo blowing the miasma on him from all 52 heads but it was simply negated like it was nothing.

"I'm going to go ahead and do the solid of killing you now," Raizo spoke. The beast was far too panicked to even retort. That would be his last mistake since he would not be getting any last words. The Harbinger began his swift assault not giving the monster a chance to even breathe as he attacked from every possible direction at him. Raizo carved Leviathan up slicing off every scale and spine on the beast's body until he was pretty much a smooth-scaled lizard. Then, the youth decided to rain down the lightning blades on the creature turning the foul beast into an overgrown porcupine.

The 700-foot-tall mythical beast collapsed on the ground with all 52 heads. Over 100,000 blades were stabbed into the beast electrifying him with enough voltage to kill a human being for about a thousand lifetimes. Somehow, Leviathan was still alive. Impressed, Raizo—with Vajra in hand—hovered over him casting his rosy eyes over the creature like a god rendering his judgment.

"Well this was underwhelming but I suppose our fight has gone on for long enough. I'd ask you if there were any last words you have to say but I'm pretty sure there is literally nothing you can say that will even remotely cause me to delay the inevitable. Actually no, I just don't care," Raizo said. Leviathan couldn't even speak even if he wanted to since there was so many blades lodged into his many throats that he could not even utter the words. In addition, the amount of electrical volts surging into his body blurred his mind.

Raizo then disappeared from sight taking his blade and swinging through space and time within Cosmic Foundry. After stepping outside the bounds of his created universe, he took his blade and charged it with electric energy causing Vajra to glow a luminescent purple like his aura. He jumped up in the air and took aim.

"Destroy it all in the blink of an eye, Exalted Cleaver!" he shouted before discharging his energy down upon the alternate universe destroying it on impact with Leviathan still inside. The starry skies that occupied the space before came back as the storm subsided and the seas calmed down.

[Well done Crimson Harbinger…you finished my fight that I blamed myself for failing to see through for many centuries. In a way, you could be considered a hero.]

"That title belongs to someone already. Plus, I refuse to call myself a hero. I just do what I have to do," Raizo replied to Indra.

[Even so, you are still something akin to one. You are Vindicator for me, a Liberator of the Heavens and Earth and now the Vanquisher of the God Eater. Regardless of your own thoughts, you have saved mankind from a threat that they will never even know about.]

"Even so, this world will never truly be free until the Empire falls and every vain individual is slain. Forgive me for staining your sword in the blood of my enemies."

[You do what you have to do Raizo. Just make sure that you don't lose your way.]

Holding the blade in his hands, Raizo looked around and saw that the plateau he stood on upon Leviathan's emergence was still intact. In an instant, he flashed to that location finding his supplies and cloak. Putting the bag over shoulder then covering his mostly exposed torso with the tattered rag, the youth with to sheathe his swords but found there was nothing but his current blades.

"Heh…I can't believe they actually broke. I'm sorry Assana. I'll be sure to give these things a proper resting place soon," he said. Suddenly, he felt something pop onto his back. A while and gold scabbard with a black tassel on the end appeared from his aura matching the Vajra. Raising an eyebrow, he twirled the blade around and tucked it in its spot. It was a perfect fit. Nodding, the youth turned to walk but found no way out until the cave he entered earlier reappeared.

"Time to head back," he said. Still in his 'Heart' form, he stepped to its location in a flash and walked out emerging in the mountain pass where he was before. The sun that had been high in the sky was gone but it could be seen coming over the horizon again.

"Wait…I've been gone for a whole day?" he asked himself in shock. Looking at himself, he saw that he was still imbued by his new powers but he felt that it was fading fast. Gonna have to milk it then. He then took off in the direction he headed all the way out of the Nightmare Forest and into the now colder part of the world—the northwestern region. As he stood for a moment in the wide open clearing, he saw another road that seemed to lead to parts unknown.

"Shit, I'm in the middle of nowhere now," he said aloud. Heart of the Storm soon faded away but at a horrible time as Raizo would find out soon. He began to walk just in the general direction using the road as a reference but before he could take really get moving he heard the sound of galloping horses. Looking around, he saw nothing until out from a small pass was a small platoon of soldiers wearing uniforms belonging to the Capital. What the hell are they doing out here? He thought to himself. The fatigue from his fight was already settling in so he was hoping that there was no one particularly strong or people who could put up a decent fight were with them. Too bad his luck ran out.

As the soldiers slowed down before Raizo, who was entering a battle stance carefully, a single man strolled forward on his horse with a smile. With his long, silver hair and green eyes, the Stormbringer knew exactly who he was.

"Aquilo…"

"Well look who we have here, if it isn't the man on the run from the Revolutionary Army—Raizo Arashi. I didn't think I'd run into you so soon," chuckled the man on his horse. Yuki came strolling up beside him on her horse smirking at the youth. Raizo felt like he could fight but his body was not responding. The fatigue was finally kicking in. He couldn't afford to be stopped now by this rotten bastard but it seemed like he was too tired to really put up a fight until something unexpected happened.

"Sir, look!" a soldier called out. It was then that two dots descended over the area. One listen gracefully in the air as her white hair flowed behind her while the other had been manipulating flames to maintain her flight.

"It can't be…" Aquilo uttered in shocked.

"Yes it can. I am Hestia Arashi, leader of the Order of the Sapphire Phoenix. This is my partner, Adena Zao Lóng. I'm going to have to ask you to back away from my son or I'll have to kill all of you; especially you, Silver Fox."

The wheels of fate have begun to turn once more.