87th Adversary: The Storm Hidden Beyond The Horizon

After passing Kirika's test and barely surviving her, Miko left her oasis with heavy steps.

"I-I thought that I was gonna die."

His body was covered in bruises and his clothes and hair were rugged.

"Why are all the women in my family like that? Is it Tia? Do they all have to act so fierce because of her dragon blood?"

Miko suddenly felt amusement coming from his link with Tiamat. It was obvious that she heard his question.

"That was scary."

Ishma and Regis were walking beside him in their human forms.

"I read about pain, but this is the first I've actually experienced it. Before I only felt a numbing sensation when attacked."

Regis mumbled.

"Well, I never used you two against people who could damage or break you before. Kirika has the skill to destroy a regalia, so it makes sense she could hurt you two."

"Hmph. She didn't hurt me in the least."

Ishma grumbled. Miko looked at the bruise on her neck and decided to humor her.

"Yeah. There's no one who can hurt the great Ishmavael."

"You got that right."

"You screaming "that hurts" was only an act to fool your enemy."

"Y-Yeah. At least you understand."

"And those bruises don't hurt at all. So you wouldn't mind if I touched them, would you?"

"Do it and I'll kill you!"

Ishma backed away and shouted.

"Hahaha! Stop the tough act. We got our asses kicked, there's nothing wrong with that."

"The hell it isn't!"

Ishma pointed at herself.

"I'm a pureblood demon! A demon of the highest order! Yet, I got defeated by a brat who's only a fraction of my age? That's disgraceful! Even if my power is sealed!"

"You're surprisingly prideful for a mascot character."

"Who the hell are you calling a mascot?!"

Ishma started lunging at Miko, who kept avoiding her with minimum movements.

"Compared to Kirika, you're as slow as a snail."

Miko laughed.

"Hm?"

He, however, stopped laughing when he saw that Ishma had stopped attacking him. She stood still with her head down. He could see her shoulders trembling.

"Dammit…Dammit…"

"...."

Miko and Regis looked at her in silence as if they were shocked.

"Is it really that much of a big deal?"

Miko asked. Hearing his question Ishma looked up and revealed her eyes that were full of tears. Miko didn't seem surprised at all to see her wearing such an expression.

"Of course, it's a big deal! I'm Ishmavael! The spawn of Lucifer and sibling of Ajax Diabolus! I can't afford to lose to anyone under any conditions!"

"Why?"

Miko calmly asked.

"What do you mean why?"

"I'm simply asking why can't you lose? Because it will disgrace your father's and brother's name? Or is there some bigger reason behind it?"

"...…"

"I once asked Tia to tell me more about you before you were sealed away; I gathered that you were quite the troublemaker, which I have no problem with. What I did find displeasing is the reasons for your behavior. You always chose to cause trouble that would draw lots of attention to yourself. You would put yourself in situations where it was impossible to escape on your own. Despite the way you act, I know that you're actually an intelligent person, which means you did what you did to draw attention to yourself."

Miko paused and looked at Ishma's expression. She wasn't fuming anymore and was only listening with a frustrated face.

"Ishma, could it be that you caused all that trouble just to get your father and brother's attention?"

Ishma looked like she wanted to protested, but when she looked into his eyes she held her head down once again.

"I see. So the reason you can't lose no matter what is because you want to be accepted by your almighty father. What a cliché setting."

Ishma was about to say something but before she could, she felt a hand on her head. She slowly looked up and saw Miko smiling at her.

"Cliché or not, if it's a part of your character then I'll accept it with open arms."

He pointed his thumb at himself.

"Believe it or not, I love cliches."

"...…"

Ishma silently stared at him.

"But you know Ishma, there isn't anything wrong with losing. People grow more from defeat than from victory. It's only through defeat that we will truly look at ourselves and notice that we still have room for improvement."

He started playing with her hair.

"So Ishma, don't reject defeat. Accept it, welcome it, and embrace it. And most importantly, learn from it."

He took his hand off her head which caused her to look up.

"Besides, we're partners. Your defeats are my defeats, and my victories are your victories. If you ever feel defeated, just look at me. I'll make sure to show you the coolest way to lose."

"....."

Ishma stared at him in silence for a bit before-

"Pfft! Hahahaha! There's no such thing as a cool defeat! Are you stupid?"

She started laughing.

"Hmph. I'll show you one when we face Kirika again. Just watch! I'm taking a piece of clothing before I go down! At least I won't die in vain!"

Miko boldly declared.

"Hahaha! That's so stupid!"

Ishma laughed while holding her stomach.

"Hey, Miko. What about me?"

Regis held on to Miko with a frown.

"Don't worry, Regis. We're literally bound together. Only death will do us part. So I promise that I'll take on all of your pain. So fight as you like, okay."

"That's a promise."

Regis tightened her grip on him.

"Mhmm…"

Not too far away, Kirika was watching Miko's interactions with his swords.

"You've really matured Miko. But…."

She looked at the smiling girls by his side and then at his smiling face.

"Can the current you withstand the pain of losing someone? You've learned to love more, but love and loss come hand in hand."

She stared at his smiling face for a while before smiling herself.

"Well, I guess I just need to make it so that you won't lose anyone, don't I?"

Days later.

Renacido's growth was the talk of the empire. Especially, after rumors that Miko recruited the siblings Alec and Kirika Dragna. These two were incredible geniuses in their separate fields. Not only were they, but smart they were also great military assets. Recruiting the two was very impressive.

Since he was the current Millennium Genius, Alec joining Renacido created buzz across the world. Alec of the Bloodflame has joined up with a young proxy! Such news spread everywhere and caused countless people to be curious about who Miko was and even began paying attention to him.

While everyone was in an uproar about Kirika and Alec, there were some people who felt pressured.

Lushun, Flameheart Residence.

Luka Flameheart was sitting by herself in her room with large stacks of papers in front of her. Some of them were old and even discolored, testifying their age.

"The War Sage took the full blow of Demon General Kan's attack and then laughed fearlessly before using his regalia, Gungnir, to take his enemy's life. He then took the Demon General's land and built his own empire. The Asgard Empire."

What Luka was read was a report with the title "The Rise Of History's Greatest Proxy, Emperor Stein". Around her were several similar documents that told the tales of famous proxies throughout history, their rise and fall, and the battles they took part in. There were also videotapes of countless warriors.

"You're studying again, Lulu?"

Behind her, a man stepped from a golden light. He had long black hair that was braided into one, and a pair of red reptilian eyes. He was dressed in royal robes, which were black with gold linings. He gave off a majestic and all-knowing atmosphere, like a sage. He was Ouroboros, Luka's God Parent.

"Father."

Luka looked back at him.

"You're finally back."

"Yeah. Tia caused quite a riot in the Summit. It took a while before things became calm enough for me to return."

Ouroboros walked up and took up a disc with the title "Zanis Zebul (Ouroboros' Proxy)".

"You were watching your father's battles again?"

Luka nodded.

"Since he was your proxy before me, as well as my father, I make sure to watch his battles at least once a day for inspiration."

She replied while flipping through a report of a battle between Thor and Heracles' previous proxies.

"I don't think you should copy Zanis that much. His way of fighting was beaten into him by Demon Sovereign Zara when he was still a part of the Zebul Empire."

"I know. It would be dangerous if the Zebul Empire finds out about me and started aiming for my life. They're only inspirations, that's all. I won't copy them."

She turned around and looked at him.

"Never mind that. Do you know the current situation of the empire?"

"You mean Renacido? Yeah, I know all about it. Tia wouldn't stop bragging after all."

"Then, I'll tell you this. People are trying to convince me to kill Miko."

"Oh? Why you?"

"Because if it's me, we can just use the cover of a spar between teens as an excuse to "accidentally" kill him."

"I see. That is true."

Ouroboros' eyes narrowed.

"But can you do it?"

"Well, I think it'll be a tough battle but if I give it my all I believe I can kill him."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, can you bring yourself to kill the man you love for the sake of your clan?"

"…..I don't love Miko."

"Sure~."

"What's with that tone? I don't love him."

"That's what I could never understand about you, Lulu. Why do you always try to deny it? He's your fiancé, isn't he? What's wrong with being in love with him?"

"I'm not in love with him!"

"Then, can you kill him?"

"...…I have no reason to."

"That was a really long pause just now."

Ouroboros said with a smirk.

"As for reasons, I'm sure you have plenty of excuses."

"What?! Do you want me to kill him or something?!"

"Nope. Not at all."

Ouroboros answered with an innocent tone which pissed Luka off for some reason.

"In fact, I prefer if you avoid fighting him completely. My proxies tend to end up dead whenever they come across anyone named Gamiko after all."

"Oh, yeah. Both Nero and Nova killed some of my predecessors."

"That's right. At one point I started wondering if they are purposely hunting down my proxies. Tia would always laugh it off when I mentioned it to her though."

Ouroboros said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Father. If Miko and I do fight for some reason or the other…"

Luka clenched her fist and showed an excited smile.

"I'll win and make him mine."

"Oh~."

"Ah."

Luka flinched when she realized what she just said.

"Forget the last part! Erase it from your mind!"

"Too late."

Ouroboros took a phone.

"I already sent it to my cloud."

"Father~!"

At that time, Luka Flameheart had yet to realize that she and Miko were destined to fight. A fight that would be their bloodiest ever.

Renacido Arc End!!!!

Rookie Proxy Saga Closes!

Dragon Stars Saga Opens!

Blooded Love Arc Begins!