~65~ Corroded Soul

Akuro stood, silent and still, as the light of dawn engulfed him. He felt numb, and hopeless. If that was just one of the top tier gods, how could he defeat all of them? He couldn't even defeat one, even with help. It seemed almost like a lost cause.

His sense of loss and despair began to twist into rage, a knot in his chest that would grow and twist, his wrath growing and growing until…

The ground about Akuro's feet cracked.

Darius looked up. "Akuro? You alright?"

Black aura violently churned around Akuro's body, cloaking him in chaotic shadows like black flames. As the ground began to crack, rocks and rubble began to rise into the air.

"Akuro…" Inari said softly, moving towards him.

"DAMNIT!!" Akuro suddenly roared, throwing his hand through the air in frustration. Darius quickly pulled Inari away as a wave of aura shot from Akuro's hand and split open the earth, leaving a deep gash in the land like a fissure or a ravine.

"Akuro! Calm down! The fight is over!" Darius yelled.

Akuro turned to Darius and Inari, but he wasn't himself. It was as though his own aura had swallowed him up, consumed him, and now he had been corrupted.

"I have to be stronger.." he spoke grimly. In his mind he could faintly hear Mato and Brimgarn calling out to him.. but it didn't matter. Another voice consumed him mind, telling him what to do. Telling him to kill.

From the distance, Azazel grinned as he manipulated Akuro's aura, controlling his actions. A new puppet.

"Akuro.." Darius said, careful to keep a calm tone as to avoid enraging him further. He was painfully reminded of when he had to try and stop Akuro during one of his rampages.. "stop. The fight is over. It's us, come on, man… wake up.."

"Wake up..?" Akuro asked, stopping all movement. Then he began to chuckle. "Wake up… that's it.. this is all a dream.. because if it were real.. I'd never lose."

Akuro held out a hand, and in his palm a condensed ball of black aura formed.

"Fuck!" Darius growled, pushing Inari aside before he disappeared into a mirror and reappeared at pointblank with Akuro, using his arm to knock Akuro's upward as the ball was sent skyward. It disappeared out of sight behind the clouds, but a moment later the sky was blotted out by shadows as the clouds were swallowed by an explosion of black aura.

"What's wrong with you?!" Darius roared to Akuro. But it was like he couldn't hear him. The shadows began to shift and take shape as Akuro's Aura Cloak took form, the dragon mask covering his face as emotionless eyes glared into Darius's confused expression.

Akuro twisted his and and grabbed Darius's wrist, then wrenched Darius's arm back, snapping it at the elbow.

"Fuck!" Darius cursed in pain, then sent a punch flying for Akuro's head, but he forgot his Aura Cloak hadn't been manifested yet and his bare fist deftly struck Akuro's face.

"Oh…" he said. "Fuck."

A black scaled fist crashed into the side of Darius's face, shattering his jaw and cheekbone as he violently crashed to the ground which split and cracked from the impact. Then Akuro lifted his leg and brought his foot down on Darius's head, crushing it. A shockwave struck out from the impact as the earth shook before indenting, cracking and deepening as a crater was made from the force of Akuro's foot.

"Akuro! Stop!!" Inari yelled, a flash of light spurting over her body as she attempted to summon her Aura Cloak, but using all nine tails had exerted her completely.

Akuro dashed at Inari, but then a mirror appeared in front of her. Akuro disappeared into the mirror and reappeared back where he'd stomped Darius's head in, and he dashed straight into the ground where Darius, not enshrouded in green aura, crashed his fist into Akuro's chest, adding extra force to the impact as the earth shattered apart.

"Get out of here, Inari!!" Darius roared. "Go to Fort Arashi and tell them about the situation!"

A black taloned hand grabbed Darius's head, then waves of shadow began to envelop Darius.

"No!" Darius shouted, snapping Akuro's arm before leaping away. He could not let his aura be absorbed by Akuro, that would only result in making the battle even more difficult.

"But-" Inari began.

"You are out of aura! Just go! Get help!" Darius roared as he danced away from waves of black smoke.

Once again, Inari felt worthless. She knew she was strong! She knew she could compete on their level, but at the same time, her aura reserves were so much weaker than theirs. Why? Maybe if she went back and got help someone could restore her aura? Possibly.. she had to go.. Then she thought. Onoma. He could reverse time on her to restore her aura! That was it!

"I'll be back! I promise!" Inari called before taking off towards Fort Arashi, leaving Darius to face off against Akuro. Alone.

Darius was backpedaling away from Akuro as he rampaged, throwing punch after punch as waves of black aura flew at Darius. Eventually Darius finally saw an opening; as Akuro held up both hands above his head, time seemed to slow as Darius thrust his hand forward, his fingers held out, aura enveloping them like a blade as his hand plunged through Akuro's chest into the ribcage. But as he did this, Akuro clasped both hands together, black aura enveloping them in a ball of energy that he then brought down on Darius's head like a hammer, the force sending a shockwave across the obliterated landscape as a deep crater was blasted into the land.

Darius coughed out blood, half of his mask cracking away in wisps of green aura as blood poured from his nose, ears and eyes from the damage to his skull.

"Cut it out.. you bastard.." he growled through clenched teeth, blood spilling between them and dribbling from his lip. "Wake up.."

As the wounds healed and his mask began to reform, Darius focused aura into his arm as it was embedded in Akuro's ribs, then wrenching his arm to the side, severing open Akuro's chest, blood splattering through the air. Before Darius could make another move, Akuro threw out his hand and from it shot out a pulse-wave of aura that shattered Darius's bones and sent him flying through the air at an impossible speed.

As Darius flew, his wounds healed over and a mirror formed behind him, which he disappeared through, then a mirror formed at Akuro's feet. Darius, still moving at a ridiculous speed, flew from the mirror and crashed his foot into Akuro's jaw, shattering it and taking off his head completely. As Darius's trajectory continued, soaring up into the sky, his bow materialized in his hands. He drew back the string and a massive arrow of aura formed, nocked into the bow.

"Absolute.. Obliteration." Darius spoke, almost regretting doing this to Akuro, though he knew he'd be fine.

As he looked the arrow, the beam of aura grew larger and larger until it crashed to the earth, causing the land to shift, tremble and quake as the blast drilled a deep hole into the earth. The blast was so immense you would be able to see the aura flash from the orbit of the earth, leaving a permanent scar on the land as a seemingly bottomless abyss was formed in the earth.

"That should keep him down for at least a minute.." Darius thought as the blind king silver light faded and he began to descend. As he alighted on the ground, he walked to the edge of the hole he'd carved, looking down into it. He imagined that Akuro's body had been vaporized by the attack and that he'd reform himself at the bottom of the pit. Meaning he needed to go down there. As he was about to step over the edge, Akuro's figure suddenly appeared beside him, his Aura Cloak chaotic and devoid of any shape.

Akuro, in a berserk rage, clasped his hand over Darius's throat, lifted him into the air, then crashed him to the ground with all of his might, the impact causing the earth to tremble as the ground became indented from the force behind the attack, the first shockwave forcing a deep crater into the land, followed by a second shockwave of power as the crater was made even deeper.

Darius clawed at Akuro's hand and arm, trying to pull it away, but his strength was immeasurable and he couldn't free himself. As he looked into Akuro's eyes, he could see no trace of his friend left on him. He couldn't even see his features anymore, his Aura Cloak was a violent, churning cloud of shadow that toon the vague shape of a winged demon, crimson eyes peering down on Darius like a predator staring down its prey.

That's when it clicked for Darius.

Akuro was stronger than him. If he kept holding back, he'd die. That was all he needed to affirm his determination.

A violent gust of wind began to churn around Darius as the aura about his body began to grow brighter and his Aura Cloak became more and more solid. He then drew back both arms, then slammed them into either side of Akuro's arm, his palms crashing into Akuro's bone and snapping his lower arm in two different places. Then he hooked his foot against Akuro's chest and rolled back, slamming Akuro head first to the ground and then pinning him, and as he raised his fist into the air, he spoke saying, "sorry buddy." As a gauntlet of green aura formed about his hand, the pressure exerting from his fist causing it waves of energy to distort it and making it appear cloudy or wavy, as if it were being seen through a heat wave as wisps of green aura drifted up from his knuckles.

And then he brought it down on Akuro.

The tremendous force behind the attack sent deep cracks through the earth, as though the tectonic plates themselves were beginning to crack and break apart.

But that wouldn't keep Akuro down. A ball of condensed aura formed between Akuro and Darius.

"Fuck!" Darius cursed, forming a mirror behind him that he attempted to lean back into and fall through, but Akuro's hand grasped his throat once again and pulled Darius toward him, his head coming into direct contact with the Dark Implosion just as it went off.