Ch 50-The Divine

Aiz Pov-

No no no no no!!! we can't leave him behind... too many people already died for me.

I tried to speak up and say to leave me here but the blue-haired guy suddenly picked me up and started running leaving behind the black-haired man to fight that monster.

"Let me go! we can't leave him behind!" I said to the blue haired man.

"Dont worry missy, the captain won't die. Plus I'm sure we would only hold him back" he said confidently.

...Yes I'm weak.

If only I was stronger I could have saved my mom and dad or at least avenged their deaths.

but no, I'm here getting saved by a bunch of strangers.

And one of them is putting his life on the line to help us escape.

Maybe it's better if I just-

"Hey kid, I don't know what happened or what you've been through but killing yourself isn't the way" (Ban)

He knows?

"Hehe you're probably thinking 'he knows?' or something like that~" (Ban)

"You can read minds!?"

"Nope, it's just written all over your face just how you were thinking about killing yourself. Listen, kid, I won't tell you how to live your life but I will tell you that ending it won't change things as they are."

"I tell you a little something the captain told me once "Shit happens, people die, but no matter what, never keep moving because of we stop then all their deaths are meaningless' I don't remember when he told me that but I think it fits pretty well here"

"I saw how your dad cared for your safety till the very end, wouldn't it be horrible if you killed yourself when they sacrificed so much for you?"

"Then what am I supposed to do!?, I'm here getting my ass saved but some strangers that don't even know a single thing about me. But now one of the lm is fighting the very thing that ruined my life. What am I supposed to do?, I'm weak, I have nothing left, and everyone is gone?. *Hick* w-what am I suppose to do!?"

"*Grin* then how about joining the crew?, I'm pretty sure the cap wouldn't mind"

"Eh?"

"Don't give me that 'eh?' I'm sure you heard me well. Our captain has a tendency to recruit people from unusual backgrounds.'

"Topaz here was a street rat that would have died eventually from hunger"

"Hey!"(Topaz)

"Heh what it's the truth. And for me, I was a human experiment for immortality, it worked and now I'm immortal. I was about to be sold to some snobby rich merchant as a slave, but the captain saved me. We have a few other crew members but they aren't here right now"

As I heard his words I couldn't help but think 'Really?', it sound more like he adopted you all... But it sounds nice, like a family full of misfits.

...but can I really fit in here, what do I even want to do from now on... I have no purpose or even an idea of what I want to do from now on.

I could go back but-

"You don't have to answer right now kid, just know that the offer stands. But of course we have to run it by the captain even though I'm sure he won't min-" (Ban)

*Boom*

A sudden explosion of light emerged from behind us.

And from what emerged from it was a...

"Beautiful" were the only words that managed to escape my mouth.

Its presence isn't scary like the black dragon but instead, it's like a gentle and pure being that spreads its gentle light throughout the world.

"Cool right? The captain never ceases to amaze me" he said with a gentle smile.

"Captain?"

"Yup, it's the captain alright. I don't know exactly what it is but he told me that he's some sort of living spirit" he explained.

I see

So that's what I felt.

Earlier when they first came I had felt some sort of familiarity towards him I don't know how to describe it but it feels exactly when my mom's or undines presence is in my senses

A spirit

Earlier I hadn't noticed or paid much attention to it because of my father's death but now that I feel calm

I closed my eyes and tried to feel something, the same feeling my mother gave me.

After a few seconds I could feel a gentle light coming in his direction, no, it's multiple lights.

A brilliant and shining gold.

A calm and waving blue.

And a dark and never-ending black.

This was all that I felt from him.

My mother felt like a blowing breeze green that represented her identity as a wind spirit.

So wouldn't that mean that he is a spirit of different types?

Is that even possible?

I myself am half wind spirit which gives me a strong affinity towards wind spirit magic.

But he's completely different and on a whole other level.

Could I reach him?

That level of brilliance?

Could I show a light that gives hope to others in its very presence?

Just like him?

-----------------------

'Fuck' I thought as his purple fire reached my hand.

I felt danger from it so I immediately cut off my left arm with Altria.

"Eric!!!" She said with worry as she just saw me cut off my arm.

"It's fine I can grow it back" I quickly took out a golden apple I had saved on my storage and ate it making my whole arm grow back.

Altria sighed in relief inside my mind and said "Why did you do that?!, couldn't you have shaken it off?"

"No, I can't, that fire it of his... It's dangerous. It felt as if I let it continue, my soul itself would have become the fuel that fires it.

Hearing my explanation she seemed to understand what I was saying "So the fires can damage your soul?"

"Yes... And it looks like it can do a bit more than that" As I said those words the corpses around us started to move.

They groaned in agony as the fire that surrounded them acted as strings-controlling puppets.

Shit, I could beat the dragon but I can't use anything to 'kaboom' or the others might get caught up in the blast. Even after all that running, they haven't made it to an absolutely safe distance from the fight.

"Hey Altria, you know what protagonist do when their in trouble?" I asked

"No I don't, what do they do?" she replied with a curious tone

"They stab themselves with their weapon," I said with a grin as a pointed Altria in her Lance form towards my chest.

"Eh?" (Altria)

Before she could react I stabbed myself with her while activating my skill.

"Bahamut!!!"

I instantly changed into my majestic dragon form although this time my appearance has changed a little.

On my wings wite woven shell protected part of my body and wings. Just like Altria's divine lance shell

My power also seemed to have gone up by a significant amount.

"You there?" I asked

"Yes I am, it feels quite weird to be one with you, though not unpleasant.

Oh?

Being a tsundere bit on the last one part, are we?

*Roar*

Oh yeah killer dragon, almost forgot.

A hideous roar erupted from the dragon, it seemed like it sensed me as more of a threat than before.

The dam thing was tough, I could do some good damage to it with Altria but it wasn't enough so I brought out Zantetsuken.

But in that moment it must have felt its power and created a blast of purple fire that sent me flying back.

And we'll one thing led to another and now we're here.

The black dragon spread it's wings and started flying upwards in an attempt to escape.

'escape? Not letting you' I quickly followed him at a speed even faster than him and punched him with my talon.

"Megaflare" aether soon condensed around my wings sending out a barrage of light missiles.

The black dragon quickly attempted to maneuver away from them but he got hit anyway.

All of them exploded, damaging his wings severely. He immediately fell from the sky and crashed to the ground.

I opened my mouth and activated my skill

"Gigaflare"

The beam of light shot out from my mouth and tongue dragon.

As it was about to make contact the black dragon's aura had a sudden change.

"This!!"

A dark flame oozed out of him, completely disintegrating my attack. The sheer heat of the flame could be felt from my position up in the sky.

*Shiver*

this feeling, it's as if I want to sheet it in the head immediately without hesitation. i wonder were this feeling came from- wait!

[Noble Phantasm: Three lines formation-Three thousand Worlds]

Three thousand matchlocks appeared around me, the aura that surrounded them could only be described in one way.

Bloodthirsty.

It's as if they were waiting for my command to taste the dragon's blood.

And going by the noble phantasm reaction I can only make one deduction.

The dragon managed to become a god or at least something that's close to having divinity.

What up with him becoming a god a death's doorstep anyway?!, isn't it kinda bullshit that he powers up at a moment like this?.

As I was thinking how bullshit this was, the fire that surrounded him died down revealing a handsome man with dark long hair, he also had one blood-red eye along with horns that looked like a deer's antlers.

Dafuck, the dragon turned into a human form?,

His closed eye suddenly shot wide open and looked directly at me, a smile adorned his face that sent chills down my spine.

"Hm~ you're a dragon like me but you feel different just like that blond woman I had incinerated earlier~, a spirit perhaps?" he asked casually to me, i didn't answer

"Oh, don't want to answer? that's fine, just wanted to say thank you. for years I have tried and attempted to reach the level of the gods and i have finally achieved it! thanks to you. hehehe and guess over what domain I rule~" he teased me with a smile.

come on man can you not smile at me while you have your cock slinging around in the open!.

...

but i do wonder what domain he rules over now as i god, by domain does he mean like an authority or a concept one rules over?

like the god of sea controls the sea.

the god of life controls life

And by the way, he controlled the corpses with his fire earlier, I can only deduce that his domain over is.

"Death" I answer curtly.

"hahah yes yes! that's right, death is what I rule over. I couldn't completely grasp it before but in the face of death itself, I was able to do what I couldn't before. it seemed like I needed to experience death myself to be able to grasp it and you helped me realize what I couldn't so...thank you~"

Shit, I made a god by accident.

how the fuck am I going to beat that?

Even wukong and the highcloud quintet haven't reached that level. Or perhaps they never sought that path, to begin with?"

I quickly untransformed from my Bahamut form since I was too big of a target right now and I didn't know what he was capable of right now. I'd rather have my immense speed in my base form than my faster but much bigger target form, Bahamut.

I stood in front of him with all thirty thousand matchlocks gaming at him, ready to take his life at any moment. now that I think of it, I'm quite grateful that I have a god-killing weapon at times like these.

"now that I think of it I haven't given you my name, have I? Then allow me to introduce myself... my name is Agrona the black, I have also heard many soldiers that I've killed call me the one-eyed black dragon" he introduced himself with a little bow.

... oh Ohhhhhhhhhh, so that's, where I remember him from, I thought he looked familiar when I saw him but I couldn't put my finger on it.

But now I know.

Agrona from The Beginning After the End, the ruler of the Vitra and the main villain of the novel/manhwa.