Chapter 26 - The Dark Wizard's massacre (2)

In order to change things up a bit, Gawain, being now filled with ego and overconfidence, allows everyone BUT Akio to attack him all at once. This could work, but it's unlikely, however, this is their once chance. If they lose here, they die.

Gawain removes the gravity imposed on everyone (except Akio). Naturally, everyone is infuriated from the deaths that had occurred, though for some, not as angry as Akio, though that matters not. Everyone starts rushing at Gawain in perfect coordination. Jack, Harumi and Aoi. Kurayami, Apollo and Blaze. Chase, Hunter and Valeria. Grace, Fender and Akiko. Everyone.

Their attacks are very effective, however, Gawain regenerates with ease. One by one, he kills them off. Starting with Harumi, he then goes on to Jack, Aoi, Fender, Hunter, Apollo, Blaze, Chase, Valeria, Akiko, Griffin, Sarah, Hanami, and finally..

"Look, Akio! Is this the one you care about the most? In that case, I'll make sure to give her the most painful death that she could ever receive."

Akio's anger reaches its peak. That's it. He's already lost everyone.. and now.. he'll lose.. Kurayami.. again. He loses all senses, as Gawain begins by destroying her vocal cords, so she cannot scream, and subsequently, this makes it even more enjoyable for him. He then continues by softly ripping her nerves out.

Kurayami starts crying, as the pain is too much for her to bear. Akio tries to extend his hand, but to no avail. He cannot beat this gravity. Is this.. the end? Why? Why couldn't he save not even one person.. not even Kurayami? Why.. why... WHY!?

Laughing at Akio's reaction, Gawain then decides that he's bored of this torture, so he cuts down the nerves that he had pulled out at that point and then, he continued to fully slit the neck of Kurayami, sending her lifeless body to Akio's way.

Akio was unhappy. Staring down at the most important person in his life.. dead.. it's not like the illusion. This time, it's real. Akio screams and cries, saying that he'll kill Gawain. Much to his surprise, however, someone kicks Gawain in the face.

That someone is none other than Alister, who had just come to the scene. He had originally been assigned to protect Ichika and Ruby while the fight goes on, but he knows that he cannot allow Gawain to bring ruin any further.

Looking around, Alister realizes.. he was too late. He apologizes to Akio, saying that to atone for this grave sin, he will pay.. with his life.

"Alister, come back! I command you! Listen to me, dammit! I.. will not.. lose.. another one! Alister.. by the authority of the Phoenix General.. I order you.. fall back!"

Alister, however, refuses to respond to Akio's order, telling him to take revenge. He rushes towards Gawain, who is now in a daze, and he tries to hit him, but to no avail. Gawain had already recovered, and he kills Alister also.

"Well, Akio, I hope that there are no more interruptions. Now, where was I? Ah, I remember. You see, Akio, I've decided to do a good deed, and so, I'll give you one chance: fight me, one on one. I'll allow you to increase your power as much as you possibly can, even."

Knowing that he has no other choice, Akio accepts, saying that Gawain will meet his doom. Right here, right now. Gawain laughs, as he undoes Akio's gravity. When he does, however, a dark magic energy envelops Akio, as his bandanna falls, revealing the scar that Roland had caused, and for some reason, black sparks are emitted from it.

Akio kneels, screaming. A few seconds later, he raises his head, smiling. Apparently, Roland had gained temporary influence of his body, but Akio ended up regaining his sense of self, though now, he has become a monster.

Gawain is excited to see what heights Akio can reach, so he waits. Akio turns to Apotheosis, nodding.

"Apotheosis, you know what we must do. I know, this will most likely kill me, and it's no more than a rumor, but it's our only shot. Please. I beg of you."

The grin that Akio has on his face reminded Apotheosis of Theos I for some reason, and the staff, seemingly begrudgingly, agrees. Akio then places it in front of him, raises his hands, and says:

"Resonance!"

This comes as a surprise to Gawain, as this 'Resonance' was something that he had never heard of before, and he has read each and every book explaining magic! Well, that doesn't matter. Akio shouldn't be powerful enough to beat h--

His thoughts are cut off, as he can now clearly see Akio. His cloak remains the same, but the inner part turns orange, with some black designs. Akio's eyes are orange, while his hair are predominantly black, with some accents of orange. Furthermore, Akio's phoenix wings have evolved, now fully opening.

"Ho, ho. It appears as though you could actually be a worthy rival, Akio!"

Akio, however, has a serious look in his face, signaling Gawain to come at him, and so he does. Gawain throws four punches at Akio, but Akio dodges them easily, though, at times, he partially turns into lightning.

Gawain recognizes it.. this is.. Full Mastery! But how? Akio had unlocked his lightning magic quite recently, and Full Mastery requires years of training to achieve.. it's impossible! Akio, however, continues to not utter a word, as he completely turns into lightning.

He strikes Gawain from all sides, and finally, he punches him in the stomach, sending him flying. Gawain spits blood during all the way, but Akio catches up to him in the air, barraging him with an arsenal of lightning punches, pummeling the wizard onto the ground.

Being surprised at Akio's newfound power, Gawain gets serious. He gets off the ground and he punches Akio in the face, planting him onto the ground instead. Akio cuts off Gawain's hand and then tackles him.

Putting his hand on the ground, Gawain leaps and does a backflip, effectively undoing Akio's tackle. However, the latter does not sit idle, as he rushes towards Gawain. As a change, the latter starts dodging some of Akio's attacks, but he is still hit by some, and that cannot change.

Even though that fact is true, Gawain actually manages to land some hits against Akio also. Akio shoots another barrage of fists against Gawain, now even stronger than before, but Gawain adapts to Akio's power, slowly but surely.

Now, Gawain realizes something: the more damage he receives, the more magic energy he absorbs, so he gets gradually stronger. This is perfect! Gawain can simply take Akio's punches, and after a while, he will be able to kill him!

This not only reveals that Gawain is not a genius, but it also makes obvious the fact that he is an absolute idiot. Gawain starts taking more and more of Akio's punches, but Akio knows about what is happening to Gawain, so instead, he opts for attacks that require little to no physical contact.

Gawain, however, had gotten quite some power out of Akio, and then, he starts his counterattack. He uses the same barrage that Akio had used against him, but this time, stronger, and then Gawain continues to plant Akio's face onto the ground, dragging it along the battlefield.

This proves that Gawain is stronger, but Akio digresses.

"Hah, Gawain.. did you think that my power would simply be that?"

Confused, Gawain now asks what the hell is Akio saying, but he simply laughs, as he turns into lightning. Damn it, Gawain had forgotten about that. Akio then materializes back, as he shoots his strongest fireball yet at Gawain, who is caught in the explosion.

When it clears, no trace of Gawain is left, and Akio thinks that it's over, however, he cannot resurrect the dead. When he turns around, with tears falling from his eyes, though, something grabs his attention.

What? How could it be? It shouldn't be possible... How did Gawain survive the attack? No, that's not the Gawain that everyone knew, this is a whole different being. This monster now laughs, saying that Akio had once again failed.

"Look at this, Akio... This is my.. Last Stand."