As Zodia charged up a massive amount of energy, storm clouds began to gather and spread across the sky, eventually covering the entire Earth. He calmly spoke,
"Come. Sword of Calamity."
A sword formed from pure energy appeared in his hand, radiating overwhelming power that caused devastating levels of energy to scatter around like lightning. Zodia looked at his powerful sword "It's been a while, my friend. Seriously, I'm way too overjoyed from just holding you.", he said with a smirk on his face.
Meanwhile, Lady Najenda—still conscious while Lord Yamamoto and Lady Shinra lay unconscious on the ground—stared at the scene in complete disbelief. Her eyes trembled as she muttered to herself,
"What kind of power is this?! Thunder clouds…! This isn't just forming over the continent—he's covering the entire planet?! He's doing all of this with raw energy alone?! Impossible!"
Zodia, sensing her consciousness, turned his gaze toward her.
"You're still conscious?" he said with mild surprise. "I'll give you credit. Out of the three of you, you were quite the fighter. Too bad I still have to kill you. I suppose you weren't frauds after all."
Lady Najenda gritted her teeth and shouted,
"How?! How are you this strong?! How can a being with such power even exist?!"
Zodia chuckled lightly.
"Oh? You haven't heard of me?" He raised his sword slightly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zodia, the God of War and Chaos—the very embodiment of calamity in its purest form."
Najenda's eyes widened as memories flooded her mind.
"Zodia…? The God of War? The one who sought to erase all existence and power?" she thought. "I've read about him in legends… but I thought he was nothing more than a myth. Wasn't he the one who destroyed the Demon Country and its entire continent? But… the Spirit Lord sealed him away!"
Zodia continued, as if hearing her thoughts.
"I see you've figured it out already. I was sealed away sixteen years ago—but that no longer matters. What matters is that this world will meet its end right here, right now."
He pointed the Sword of Calamity toward the sky. The storm clouds twisted and condensed, transforming into a massive magic circle that stretched across the heavens. Lady Najenda's breath caught in her throat "Huh?".
"I am going to destroy half of this planet with a single attack," Zodia said calmly. "And then, I'll launch it again—just because I can."
The magic circle began to glow as it charged an enormous amount of energy.
"Divine Technique: God's Punishment."
The energy descended upon the planet, detonating in a cataclysmic explosion that shook the entire world. Thunder roared across the globe as violent storms erupted everywhere. Mountains were reduced to rubble, wastelands erased, cities obliterated, and entire countries collapsed as buildings crumbled into dust.
Across the planet, Kinto and countless others felt pure terror crawl down their spines. Kinto, badly injured, stared in disbelief alongside Rin, who was treating his wounds.
"What the hell just happened?!" Kinto muttered. "An explosion…? From where?! What's going on?!"
Even Diablo, sealed away within the Reality Sealer, felt the shockwaves ripple through existence.
"So it's begun, huh?" he muttered. "Damn… at this rate, I might have to intervene."
As the smoke cleared and the thunderstorm faded, Zodia hovered in the air, speaking to himself.
"The Sword of Calamity allows me to access seventy percent of my power. Considering I currently only possess fifty percent of my full strength… I suppose that's reasonable."
He looked down and noticed a massive wall of metal shielding the survivors. Lord Yamamoto had created it at the last moment. The wall was nearly melted, barely holding its shape "Damn it all. Such power, how is this possible. In all my years of living, I have never seen a person wield this amount of strength before. Just what are you?!", he said weakly.
Zodia smirked.
"You blocked my attack? Impressive."
His expression then turned serious.
"However… what will you do about the second one?"
Lady Najenda and Yamamoto froze in fear "The second one?!", they thought.
The enormous magic circle began charging the same attack once more.
Lady Najenda trembled in terror.
"If he fires it again… the Earth will shatter! Is this really the end? Would the world just get turned into a pile of rubble and ash? It's all my fault. If I were any stronger than this, I would have been able to do something! It's all my fault.".
Just as the attack descended, a red beam of light shot down from the sky. The energy was kicked away mid-air, flying outside of earth.
Lady Najenda opened her eyes in shock and saw a figure standing before her—Alex. His hair glowed red, a cloak of crimson energy flowed behind him, and his white, radiant attire shimmered with power.
Zodia's eyes widened slightly as he sensed something familiar within Alex.
"Kazuma Starion! Spirit Lord," he muttered, grinning. "Well, well… what do we have here?"
Ukina's voice echoed in Zodia's mind.
"Lord Zodia, the Millennia Stones are ready. You'll need them to regain your full power."
Zodia responded telepathically,
"Let's wait a little longer. This boy interests me. I want to see what he can do before I move on to my main objective."
Alex glanced behind him and saw Lady Shinra, Lord Yamamoto, and Lady Najenda—battered and injured.
"You're the boy from Kagahara," Najenda said in disbelief. "The one who defeated Kuro."
Alex smiled faintly.
"And you must be the Lord of the Lightning Country. We don't have time to talk."
He activated a small device, opening a portal.
"Get them out of here. I'll handle this."
Lady Najenda carried Lord Yamamoto and Lady Shinra through the portal. Once it closed, Alex turned back toward Zodia, his eyes filled with bloodlust.
He raised his hands, forming two massive spheres of lava.
"You…" Alex growled. "You bastard!"
A violent surge of demonic energy erupted from his body.
Zodia only smiled.
"Give me a good fight, will you?"
END OF CHAPTER.