Claudio and I stood off inside the Main Department, our energies clashing with one another as if to test each other's resolve. Without a word, the two of us rushed toward each other at top speeds, an overhead slash crashing down from me, but Claudio teleported behind me with a bolt of esoteric lightning at my back.
One of my butterflies fluttered behind me and became a Floral Butterfly, absorbing the lightning and turning itself into a Nature Seed, boosting my Spirit twofold. Claudio scoffed and launched a fire spell at me, the fireball phasing through my body as if I were merely a Spirit.
"You're more blind than I realized," I taunted, warping in front of Claudio with a enzuigiri to the side of his head then launched him away with a circular wide slash.
Claudio grunted heavily as he flew backwards then generated wind energy to break his fall before landing upon the ground. He got into a one hand running start, building up speed using lightning energy, his silver eyes gleaming brightly as his entire body was cloaked with a thin layer of lightning.
With great exertion, he bolted in front of me at lightning speeds with a Destiny Flash to my face, a wicked grin stretched across his face. My body autonomously evaded his attack, a rush of lightning flying past my head, none of its stray bolts even nearing a strand of hair.
"Too slow," I said, countering with a launching uppercut then warped in the air with him with two rising kicks and warped above him with my black chains wrapping around his body.
Claudio grunted as he was constricted in my hold with no way to break out, a groan escaping his mouth as I whirled him around quickly and launching him out a window. Claudio flew backwards along the sky before recovering in the air and smirking lightly.
"Well, you certainly are moving a lot more efficiently. Where was all this when we first fought?" Claudio asked, watching me air walk out the hole in the wall toward him.
I gripped my sword tightly within my hand, pointing it at Claudio and meeting his wicked gaze with a stern one of my own. "I was merely studying you, but now...I think I understand your true flaws."
"Which is?" Claudio asked, tilting his head with curiosity and hummed lightly.
"You don't know that I grow in wisdom, meaning I evolve as I fight. As I grow, my knowledge with my true power grows and my acknowledgement of my true being grows. When I reach my full potential, it isn't called a transformation," I said, 10 of my butterflies taking formation of a constellation.
My butterflies began to glow brightly, the brightest they've ever shone. The same hiss Claudio heard earlier sounded once more, a white serpent slithering across the ground with amber lit eyes, her gaze focused upon Claudio.
White clouds came into full view around my body as the white serpent wrapped herself around my body, the Ophiuchus Constellation glowing brightly in front of me via my Sovereign Butterflies. Claudio's entire body began to develop goosebumps, his eyes unable to comprehend my form.
"It's called Transfiguration, what was known in August's time as the Hero of Origin, the Unity Form. For me, it will be known as the True Nexus. Just as Yesha had His, mine will also happen, like it or not," I said, opening my eyes and the Yaoke Sigils formed within my eyes.
Yaoke, an ancient visual prowess only known by Yuvah also known as the Eyes of God in Exzodian Language: Yah Ō Keh. These eyes could only be accessed by the Forbidden Zodiac, Ophiuchus...also known as the Healing Serpent.
"Transfiguration huh..? I'm calling your bluff! You haven't even been baptized yet, so how much power could this form have given you?!" Claudio challenged, getting into his stance and prepared to charge toward me.
Staring at Claudo, my Yaoke began to glow brightly, a ten second vision of Claudio's exact steps playing right before my very eyes before Claudio even acted it out. Claudio dashed forward at lightning speeds once again and got low on the ground, attempting to sweep me with NY Flares.
I flawlessly evaded each one of his kicks then used my white clouds to summon a white bird to fly toward him like a homing missile, the bird crashing into Claudio and bursting into holy energy. Claudio grunted softly as he slid backwards along the ground, his pants gradually becoming soft huffs of exhaustion.
'What the hell just happened..? It was almost as if he could see every one of my moves before I did it. Did he really see into the future..? Can he read Essences like I can..?' Claudio questioned mentally, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face with a mix of caution and confusion.
"I can see that you're confused, so allow me to explain the Yaoke to you. With these eyes, I can see the Past, the Present, and the Future by just sensing one's Spirit. Just like I know Mua and Regina lost against Leonidas alone, you should be getting a call right about...now," I said, slipping my hands into the pockets of my robes and closed my eyes.
Claudio heard his phone ringing exactly when I said it would, his hand hesitating to reach for it with a cautious gaze. He took the phone out of his pocket, noticing Mua calling him and gripped his phone tightly.
"'Come on...pick up the phone Master. We're getting our asses kicked'. Those are her exact words right now and when you answer, she will warn you about Leonidas's Crest of Henosis. Go ahead, and pick it up if you don't believe me," I said, shrugging my shoulders and opening my eyes to look at Claudio once more.
Claudio put his phone back into his pocket and got into his stance again, blue lightning crackling around his body as he prepared himself for battle once again. "Hmph! Let's just say that is the case, it still doesn't change the fact that I can still kill you!"
Claudio launched himself toward me with a flurry of strikes, but I phased through his attacks then countered with a one inch punch against his chest, sending him crashing through the campus at high speeds. I warped above him with a heavenly strike to his chest, but he managed to phase through my attack, his body becoming a blur before dissolving into crows.
The crows began to swarm around my in attempt to confuse me, but I calmly unleashed a flock of doves around my body via my white clouds, the Clouds of Pleroma. The doves let out their call, causing the crows to scatter across the campus and out of the Dark Lord Zone.
"Let's cool it down around here! Freeze!" Claudio spoke with his Golden Tongue, luckily managing to get my body to freeze so he could land a Heavenly Impact upon my chest.
I grunted softly as I was launched backwards, but I recovered off one hand, rebounding onto my feet then dashed forward at invisible speeds with a roundhouse, knocking Claudio away then warped behind him. Time began to slow down, the serpent around my body glowing brightly and unleashing a barrage of invisible strikes upon Claudio's back.
Claudio rolled forward along the ground as he flew ahead and recovered back onto his feet, summoning two Lust Sigil Bombs in his hand then combined the energy together to fire a beam of energy toward me. The beam ripped through the ground as it travelled toward me at high speeds, the line of energy making contact and erupting into an explosion.
"Was that the best you can do?" I taunted, unleashing my aura around my body, iridescent energy pulsating around my body and releasing celestial particles, the smoke around my body clearing in an instant.
Claudio lowered his hands slowly with disbelief, grunting softly in shock and took a single step back from me. His stamina continued to grow weaker the longer the fight went on, his legs slightly quivering until falling upon one knee. "Dammit..! Just how am I losing..? We're supposed to be equals!"
I looked down at Claudio in silence, my white clouds spiralling around my body in calm movements. "We might be equals according to prophecy, but that is only temporary... and after my baptism in St. Goken and my Transfiguration, we will no longer be equals in strength nor Spirit."
Claudio scoffed at my statement and began pushing himself back onto his feet, his eyes shifting back to gold and his tattoos began to flash an ethereal purple hue as he began to combine his Peace and War energies together within. "Sure...you believe that now...but there is one side of me I haven't shown yet!"
"Lokahi! Lokahi!" Claudio chanted loudly, his tribal tattoos glowing brightly with divine energy as he let out his Tribal Howl and transformed into his Nigoku Form, his Tribe's Nexus Form.
Eight large power beads formed around his neck, each one glowing with a different Sigil to represent each aspect of his System. His tribal tattoos shone a bright lavender hue, his aura smoothly transitioning between silver, red, and gold while white lightning crackled around his body.
The Golden Star in the sky began to glow brightly, boosting Claudio's already impressive prowess to new heights. He chuckled darkly with glee for his new strength, stomping his foot down upon the ground with divine energy pulsing around his foot.
"You aren't the only one with new tricks up their sleeve! Now prepare yourself for the true might of the Mojisola!" Claudio bellowed, launching himself toward me with a charged up punch.
I watched as he quickly approached me with his attack then phased through his attack, warping behind him with a chop to his neck, but he managed to autonomously evade my attack and counter with a powerful elbow to my face. I grunted as I was knocked back, but quickly recovered on the ground.
Claudio dashed toward me and fired multiple energy blasts toward me from the palm of his hand, each blast soaring toward my body at alarming speeds. I deflected each energy blast and reversed the final blast back toward him, firing a volley of light energy toward him to add more pressure.
"Don't you see, Noxius?! Everything you're doing for your cause is truly futile! You'll always be a second rate Messiah! You can try all you must, but in the end it will all fall down!" Claudio laughed, forming an energy wall in front of him to block my energy blasts.
He propelled himself toward me at near invisible speeds with a deadly strike aimed at my face, but to his surprise I caught his fist and stopped him in his path. Without a word, a deadly ubiquitous strike landed upon Claudio's stomach, his legs growing weak at the strike as he stumbled backwards.
I walked toward Claudio and struck him upon his stomach one again, staggering him with an electrifying blow then knocking him into the air with an uppercut. I warped above him, not giving him a chance to recover or gather himself, my leg arching over my head to crash down upon his neck for a Meteor Axe Kick.
Claudio's eyes flashed white as my leg landed upon his neck with a destructive howl, a blast of holy winds spreading across the sky. Claudio was sent crashing down to the ground like a meteor, a large smoke cloud forming around where he landed.
"Zodiac Arts: Astral Chains," I said calmly in the air, snapping my fingers and summoning a dome of small portals around Claudio.
Celestial chains erupted from each of the portals and latched onto Claudio's limbs, restricting his movements and draining his Spirit Energy. He groaned in deep pain as I continued to drain his Essence, causing his body to begin to shine brightly in excruciating pain.
"Zodiac Arts: Deliverance," I said, holding my hand out toward Claudio and activating the second phase of my Astral Chains.
The chains began to glow brightly like the light of the sun, turning the setting of the area from night to day with just its light. Before Claudio could realize what my second Ophiuchus Zodiac Arts did, the chains erupted into divine explosions, the destructive shockwave spreading across the entire Main Campus.
Leonidas glanced up at the ceiling of the underground cave of the Tree of Life, noticing debris falling off the ceiling and heard the heavy rumbling of the roaring battle above. "This is getting insane, but the Rebirth Bud is just up ahead! C'mon!"
Myra nodded and hurried forward with Leonidas, her hold upon Clover tightening as she rushed forward to the Radiant Lotus Bud ahead. As the two neared the large bud, a wave of black clouds stretched out and struck Myra upon her back, causing her to groan out in pain.
"Mother Myra!" Leonidas gasped, quickly rushing to her aid and catching her before she fell then glanced up at her attacker, noticing a hooded figure in the distance with black clouds swirling around his body. "Who are you?!"
The figure didn't remove his hood, only holding his hands out and using his Crest of Sheol to manifest two red rods of nothingness energy. "The Sanctification of a Dark Lord, Ragnarok's Gift to the Earth...all of that ends, along with the Prophecy of Ascea."
Leonidas clenched his teeth with a sharper glare, his Crest of Arcane flashing brightly in response to the figure's Crest of Sheol. "All of you are so obsessed with Nox...why? Is it because you realize that he isn't a descendant of August, but the true Ascea, the Successor of Yesha?"
The figure laughed lightly at Leonidas's claim, his body distorting into black smoke and reappearing behind Leonidas within an instant. He grabbed Leonidas's collar tightly, using his full strength to launch him toward the cave wall with Myra in his arms.
Leonidas held onto Myra and Clover as tightly as he could, grunting heavily as his back crashed heavily against the wall, the underground wall cracking upon impact. He fell onto one knee, grunting softly in pain yet still grasping onto my mother and daughter.
"Leonidas...just let me go. You're only holding yourself back," Myra spoke gently, looking up at Leonidas with worry, seeing the deep pain within his face.
Leonidas let out a soft chuckle and opened one eye to look at Myra, a small grin forming upon his lips. "Please...your son hit me with a lot worse and I'm still standing..."
The figure scoffed at Leonidas's confidence, throwing one of his rods toward Myra and Clover, but an invisible force struck the rod, deflecting it back toward the figure. The hooded man caught the rod, scoffing lightly and watched as Leonidas transformed into his Emperor Form.
"Well now, mysterious figure. Slow down won't you? The real battle is only just starting, taken the ringleader has now finally decided to show up," Leonidas said, setting Myra down gently against the wall then casted a barrier around her and Clover.
"Ringleader? You speak as if you can see through me... interesting. However, you are not my target so I suggest you step aside while you are at my mercy," The mysterious figure said, pointing his other rod toward Leonidas.
Leonidas chuckled softly at the figure's loaded mercy threat, purple lightning crackling around his body and streaming out in dangerous currents. Without words, he unleashed his End Current, a destructive orb of violet arcane energy with the capability of destroying space and gravity with its mere presence.
The figure caught the orb with one hand, grunting heavily and gripping his arm with his other hand to steady himself while he was being pushed back by one of Leonidas's trump cards. The orb began to destroy the figure's life force, his hand slowly beginning to disintegrate due to Arcane's imaginary mass properties.
Quickly, the figure decided to dodge to avoid being fully disintegrated into nothingness, looking behind him and watching the orb carve through a wall and end with a massive explosion. The light from the moon could now be seen in the distance, a large hole allowing a new entrance inside the Tree of Life.
The Mysterious Figure used his black clouds to restore his hand, humming thoughtfully as he stared at Leonidas, his mana blue eyes shimmering beneath the shadows of his hood. "I may have severely underestimated you, Mr. Pride."
"It's Mr. Yascea to you, get it memorized," Leonidas retorted, tapping the side of his head with his index finger. "Besides, the faction of Holy Resistance you sent has been dealt with. You are alone."
"You're right, I am alone now. However, I will not allow you to Sanctify Clover! The Death of Dark Lords will be the death of Ragnarok then...I'll move on to the Zodiacs and kill them off for good, ending Genesis and thus leaving only God," The Figure declared, aiming a large fiery blast toward the Rebirth Lotus.
"No!" Myra yelled out, rushing toward the wall of the barrier and slamming her fist against it. "Leonidas, stop him! If he destroys that, Blossom, Floria, Gaia, their line will die!"
Leonidas grunted and quickly dashed toward the figure at high speeds and summoned his sword, lunging forward with a slash of light energy. The figure turned his attention toward Leonidas, his body becoming a cloud of smoke to avoid his attack then he rematerialized behind him with a thrust of his nothingness blade, seeking to end his life.
Leonidas immediately shifted into his Atren Stance, an invisible force blocking the figure's attack and knocking him off balance. The figure grunted softly in slight disbelief, a grin stretching across Leonidas's face as he then took on his Dagrax Stance, a rapid flurry of ubiquitous strikes landing upon the figure to knock him away.
"I might have once stood against Nox, but he showed me something that you all couldn't have. The Truth, and realizing it all the way back then...I destroyed his life over a single lie," Leonidas said, standing up straight and scoffed lightly, his Crest of Arcane shining brightly upon his flowing cape.
"What lie? That he killed Zachary? Or was it before...when Reinhart came to you saying Nox was a heretic? After all...you once believed that you were Ascea," The figure asked, letting out a cold chuckle and turned his gaze toward Myra behind him. "Has he truly forgiven you? Are you on the path of redemption, or are you just doing this to make yourself feel better for your crimes?"
Leonidas smirked at The Figure's accusations, turning around to face him fully with four elemental dragons swirling around his body. His left eye twitched with annoyance, the figure's words beginning to stir beneath the seams. "What?"
"Don't listen to him, Leonidas! He's trying to make you lose your composure!" Myra called out, squeaking loudly and falling back as a blast of darkness struck the barrier.
The figure lowered his hand slowly from the barrier then turned toward Leonidas again, tilting his head slightly. "What could you possibly be trying to prove? After all, your own Ancestor fell like Solomon. The Foolish Warlord is a fitting name for him, just like his Successor...Number 2 of the Holy Council, The Fool."
Leonidas's energy began to spark up, Pyroc, Rivule, Therris, and Galvan all letting out their battle roars in response to Leonidas's growing anger. "You watch how you speak about my bloodline..."
"You sound a lot like like someone else I know," My voice echoed through the underground and catching the attentions of Leonidas, Myra, and the Mysterious Figure.
All three of them watched as I walked forward with the Clouds of Pleroma swirling around my body, the Crest of Pleroma and Ophiuchus's Sigil twinkling as tiny constellations within the clouds. I stopped beside Leonidas with one dove perched upon my shoulder and Ophiuchus wrapped around my body like a protective armor.
"Nox!" Myra called out with great relief, getting up on her feet and hurrying toward the wall of the barrier.
The figure smirked behind his cloak, his focus no longer upon Leonidas and now fully shifted upon me. "So the little lamb has found his way to the future graveyard of his farm."
"Lamb...no, I come here as a Lion to claim back his kingdom, Merin," I said, taking on my stance and immediately preparing myself for battle.
Leonidas and Myra quickly glanced at the figure in shock, the two of them taking off guard of the exposed mystery of the figure. The figure slowly lowered his hood, revealing himself to be Merin, his silver hair falling down onto his shoulders, a serpentine grin stretching across his face.
"Ahh, so you've finally managed to connect with Ophiuchus... or shall I call her Sephora? The Forbidden Zodiac, or shall I call her the Physical Holy Spirit..?" Merin chuckled, letting out a soft exhale and moved his head to look up at the ceiling. "I remember when she first appeared...do you still want the Sword of Spirits back?"
"That ability does not belong to you, Merin! Zachary mended that ability for me, and even if I must draw my very last breath here...I will make sure to take it back!" I roared, getting into my Serpent Stance with Sephora locking onto Merin with her golden gaze.
"Then come! I've long awaited this moment! The moment to test your strength once more!" Merin laughed, dashing toward me at high speeds and leaped toward me.
I gripped the ground and blitzed toward Merin with a roaring strike, the two of us clashing fists and repelling one another away. Merin teleported toward me via his black clouds with an overhead kick, his strike missing as phased through his attack with a sidestep then struck his stomach with a heavy blow.
Merin grunted heavily as he rolled backwards along the ground then used his Clouds of Sheol to manifest three Black Knights to charge toward me, their black blades encased with Nether Energy. I activated my Yaoke, the sigils glowing brightly as I formed three Future Clones at my sides, all three invisible to the natural realm.
I phased through the first slash of a Black Knight then used a black chain to parry the second slash with the third Knight slipping behind me with a killing slice. One of my Future Clones activated, coming into view as a figure of etheral blue light and striking the head of the knight at full force, causing the knight to disperse into black smoke.
'That strength... that attack was an All Out Strike. He's using the Alrean Stance with Ophiuchus's Serpent Stance..? That power and speed should be unmatched...but Merin is still extremely cunning,' Leonidas said mentally, analyzing the battle from the sidelines until he felt he needed to intervene.
My other two Future Clones activated to reflect damage back to one Black Knight using the Atren Stance while the other obliterated the last Knight with a single strike to the chest using the Yascea Stance. Merin watched in silence with a smirk, uncrossing his arms and humming lightly at my performance.
"So, you've been studying upon your heritage I see. Dagrax, Atren, Alrean, Yascea, Yesha, Shiuji, and Sorien, the seven Countries of Eyica and fittingly seven of the 12 Tribes of Eyica. However, that won't help you much," Merin said, pointing a finger at me with his other hand behind his back.
Suddenly, a small pool of energy formed in front of his finger, a long blade of ethereal blue light stretching out to pierce my right shoulder. I grunted heavily in pain, stumbling backwards with my hand clutching my shoulder, confused on how my Yaoke now failed to predict Merin's movements.
Without having another second to react, a pool of energy formed beneath me, only giving me a split second to react to the erupting blade of light reaching my face. Quickly turning, the blade missed all lethal areas, but managed to impale my left forearm with the energy blade reaching up to the unground ceiling.
"Nox!" Myra cried out, bashing her fist against the barrier, her black chain emerging from her lower back to try to break down Leonidas's protective barrier to get to me.
"Nox!" Leonidas called out, rushing toward me aid but was forced to dodge a Sword of Spirit emerging from beneath him, preventing him from reaching me.
"It's all over here, your Yaoke failed because you simply can't read me. The Crest of Sheol hides my Spirit perfectly behind thick layers of smoke that not even the most divine of discernment can read," Merin began, approaching me with a wide grin then took hold of my face forcing me to look up at him.
I met his eyes with defiance, Sephora still wrapped around my chest unmoving, yet passively healing my wounds slowly via the white clouds around my body. "Your heart is hardened beyond belief...and you dared to call me your brother..."
"Oh, but I am...just an ancient one. Starting all the way in Heaven with Lucifer and Michael, or I guess you can say Lucifer and Adonai, Adamiel and the Serpent, Cain and Abel, Moses and the Pharaoh, Yesha...and The Devil," Merin said, his grin widening with enjoyment at my defiance before him.
Merin let go of my head, watching it lower with my hair shadowing my eyes then turned over to Myra, sinisterly making his way toward the barrier. "Now, it all starts with your Mother Mary, Mother Myra of L'Tenma. Destroying her soul for good...is the first step of destroying the Messiah all together."
Myra quickly backed away from the barrier toward the other end of the protective dome, clutching Clover tightly in her arms and gulped lightly. "It was you who killed Zachary...my first born?"
"No, it was you...Vince killed Prince Zachary in your name. You gave the order as Lament, L'Tenma," Merin answered with a dark grin plastered across his face and placed his hand upon the barrier, using his Crest to destroy the barrier with ease.
Myra gasped in terror, quickly launching her black chain toward Merin in hopes of stopping him, but Merin caught her chain and began wrapping it around his hand slowly. With a strong pull, he yanked Myra toward her and caught her by her neck.
"You are no longer Nox's mother...you are Lament and your goal is to kill the Messiah and bring lament upon the Earth. You listen to me now, you follow my orders...you march to my beat," Merin hissed, his mana blue eyes staring intensely into my mother's own.
Clover began to stir in Myra's arms, her rest being disturbed by the growing chaos around her. Her began to softly whimper, clasping tightly upon Myra with the need for protection. Merin glanced down at Clover, letting go of Myra and snatching Clover out of her arms.
"No—" Myra began, reaching out for Clover then grunted heavily as she was knocked to the ground by a backfist from Merin.
Clover immediately began crying in the grips of Merin, her fearful tone filling the caves and causing thorned roots to erupt from the ground dangerously. The sound of Clover's crying began to awaken an anger in me that I didn't know I had, my clouds beginning to storm and spiral more violently around me.
Merin glanced over at me and froze in his steps, feeling a vast increase in my Spirit Energy, the eyes of Sephora glowing more brightly with anger. The energy blades keeping me pinned down began to shatter under the pressure of my growing energy, the rubble beginning to rise and the ground beginning to rumble.
"Take...your hands off MY DAUGHTER!!" I roared, heavenly lightning surging around my body from the Clouds of Pleroma, each stream of lightning destroying everything it could hit.
Merin grunted heavily as a bolt of lightning struck his body, the force of the bolt throwing him back with godly force. He dropped Clover as he flew backwards, the sounds of Clover's crying growing louder as she began to fall.
A white cloud formed beneath Clover and caught her before she could hit the ground, the cloud floating over to the Rebirth Lotus Bud behind me. The cloud lowered upon the bud, the bud opening to accept Clover inside then a beacon of floral light blasted up from the bud and shot into the Tree of Life, causing the entire tree to illuminate in the night.
Merin clutched his stomach as he recovered upon one knee, looking ahead and noticing the sanctification of Clover taking place. "I will not allow you to complete this!"
Merin roared as he fired a black fireball toward Clover's Bud, but a Future Clone appeared in front of the bud in the Atren Stance, deflecting the fireball back toward Merin. He quickly dodged his own attack and teleported toward me with a deadly chop to my neck.
The clouds around my body began to form into a single white wing, Sephora awakening her power to protect me. My wing wrapped around my body to block Merin's attack, the light from my wing beginning to slowly obliterate his hand just as Leonidas's End Current had.
Merin grunted loudly and pulled his arm away from my wing, his hand tightly gripping his wrist in excruciating pain, the light from my mere presence burning his darkened soul. "You...you bastard!"
I unwrapped my wing from around my body, my Pleroma Aura expanding out quickly to clash against Merin's aura with domination. The light from my energy began to expel the darkness around Merin, the intense heat searing his entire body.
"I refuse...to fall to a punk like you! You're nothing! Nothing to me!" Merin bellowed, awakening his Crest of Sheol at full force to counterbalance against my Pleroma Aura, the black clouds around him storming as well.
Merin rushed toward me at near invisible speeds with a vicious blow, but I managed to phase past his attack with a step then countered with a purifying blow to his back then launched him away with a beam of pure light. Merin groaned loudly as the beam curved upward to take him from underground.
"Leonidas, it's time we save your school from Merin's influence for good. Then once this is over, and I return from St. Goken...I will have St. Meishi truly in your name. You will be one of the Four Pillars to lead Exzodia back to God," I said, manifesting a second wing then flew away to the surface with a flap of my wings.
Leonidas exhaled softly at my words and watched as I flew off then looked at his Crest of Arcane, balling his hand into a fist and closed his eyes. "Myra, whatever you do...do not leave from underground. Protect Clover at all costs."
Myra nodded rapidly and quickly crawled over to the Rebirth Lotus, watching as Leonidas hurried over to surface level as well and closed her eyes with a deep sigh. She leaned against the Rebirth Lotus, the light from the lotus burning her skin but she felt at peace being near it.
Merin and I clashed in the skies in a stalemate, the two of us relative in strength with one another. With each strike we threw, a shockwave generated, the collision of Sheol and Pleroma causing ripples in reality itself and distorting the space around us.
The V.J.I Council and the Holy Resistance who were on the ground level watched our battle from above, the news helicopter hovering over the battle to broadcast the last day of V.J.I's Judgement. From the distance, a third presence of energy was seen flying up toward the battle as well.
"The world still believes you killed Zachary! The world believes you destroyed Exzodia! You are no Prodigal Son! There's no Kingdom for you to return to!" Merin bellowed, catching my cheek with a strong strike to sent me hurling to the ground.
Leonidas caught my hand, his Dominion Wings manifesting from his back to carry him even higher than his earthly limits. He threw me back up toward Merin and Subjugated the concept of Butterfly Warping to use one of my butterflies to warp above Merin.
"His Kingdom is still here! He has already returned to the True Kingdom!" Leonidas bellowed from above, catching Merin off guard with a double axe hammer upon his head.
As Merin as spiked to the ground, I blitzed forward with a God Hand, heavenly energy spiralling around my hand as I struck Merin with an explosive palm strike. Merin coughed a bit of blood as he flew backwards, his back crashing into a mountain range in the distance.
Leonidas hovered next to me, looking over at me and noticed thin trails of white blood pooling down my cheeks from my eyes. "You're overusing your Yaoke, you're exhausting your Spirit.."
"It doesn't matter...I'll give my entire life if it means taking away the Sword of Spirits from Merin and ending his terror for good! If putting myself through a Spirit Shutdown then so be it, but I refuse to leave him standing while he possesses what belongs to me!" I declared, looking over at Leonidas with a light grin, my eyes unable to hide my exhaustion from lack of sleep for the last week.
"How noble of you, Brother! Spoken like a True Messiah, however you misundstand one thing! This world is already mine!" Merin's voice echoed into the wind, dark clouds forming around me and Leonidas ominously like thick fog along a long road.
Merin flew out of one of the clouds toward us and caught Leonidas off guard with a strike to send him flying backwards then he teleported toward me with a spinning kick, but I warped backwards via one of my butterflies to avoid his attack. Merin laughed as he flew after us, his dark aura surging powerfully around his body.
Leonidas and I flew toward Merin in sync with one another, striking him cleaning with a synchronized strike against the core of his body. Merin withstood the attack and fired a dark energy blast at us, in which we both evaded at the same time before hurrying back into combat.
Merin blocked and dodged each of our attacks, the two of us swarming around him like wasps ready to sting their target with heavenly venom. He blocked Leonidas's kick and grabbed his ankle, tossing him across the sky then teleported toward me with a knee to my face.
"I won't allow you to continue your terror against my people!" I bellowed, parrying Merin's strike with my Atren Stance then used my Yaoke to land rapid invisible strikes upon his body before launching him away with a God Hand.
Leonidas appeared at the side of him and stunned him in place with his Galvanizing Blow, the Crest of Galvan shining brightly upon the electrifying impact against Merin, leaving him open enough for my Warp Strike as a finisher. Merin recovered in the air quickly and let out a bellow, multiple pools of light blue energy forming around his body and releasing blades of energy in all directions.
I flew backwards to avoid the Sword of Spirits that Merin released and maneuvered around the protruding energy blades from the ground. "Let's do this Leonidas! Dual Zodiac Arts!"
"I already knew you'd say that!" Leonidas replied, flying backwards with me and began to generate Zodiac Energy via my Sovereign Butterflies.
"Dual Zodiac Arts!" We both bellowed, the Ophiuchus Sigil glowing brightly within my clouds and my butterflies taking formation into the Leo Constellation. "Gryphon's Wrath!"
Sephora uncoiled herself from my body and bolted forward as a stream of light as Leona emerged from my butterflies in her Lion Form, the two of them merging together to become a Saint Gryphon. They had the body of a lion, the head and wings of a dove, and the tail of a white serpent, their calls filling the night like 100 song birds singing their hymns.
The Saint Gryphon screeched as she flew forward like the spreed of light, striking Merin's body like a homing missiles which resulted in a massive light explosion. A bright light shone brightly, smoke and debris washing over a vast majority of the campus as an effect of our Dual Zodiac Arts of Ophiuchus and Leo.
The blanket of smoke began to clear from the campus, the winds settling down and the debris calmly floating back down to the ground. The light dimmed, slowly revealing the aftermath of the battle like the opening curtain of the final scene.
Leonidas slowly uncovered his eyes, looking ahead and noticing that Merin was gone but all that remained was a single Crest floating where Merin once stood. The Sword of Spirits began floating over toward me, entering my body with Zachary's butterflies fluttering around me.
Listen, Noxius...
In this world, there will be all kinds of battles for you to face...
You will stumble and fall, be tempted and pressured...
However, like Yesha did...all you need to do is...
Overcome.
I closed my eyes as I listened to the soft voice of Zachary's last words, lifting my head and trying to swallow the lump in my throat. My wings began to slowly vanish feather by feather, my form gradually returning to normal as I began to descend to the ground.
Overcome Grief...
Save Flynn...
Save Exzodia from Merin Tsu...
Save mother from fully becoming Lament...
Merin...he is your true enemy...
Merin, he is Terminus in the Flesh...
Leonidas watched as I began to fall from the clouds gracefully, but at an alarming rate then flew quickly toward me to catch me. "Nox!"
Noxius...you have to stop them...
The Holy Resistance, they are twisting Yuvah's name...
Creating false doctrines...
Only you can do this as Messiah...
As Ascea...the True Nexus.
I love you, Nox...
I know you will walk in God's name...
Tears began floating upward to the sky from my eyes, my eyes slowly opening to see the image of Zachary in front of me with his hand reached out toward me as well. Slowly, I reached out toward him as well, giving him my last smile as I watched him give me his Final Lament.
"I love you too...Zachary..." I whispered softly, my eyes closing slowly as I used the last of my energy to say my final goodbyes to my brother.
Soon, a hand caught mine, saving me from crashing to the ground. Leonidas held me up with all of his remaining strength, looking down at me with heavy pants and listened to the worried cries of my allies from around the campus.
Luciel, Effie, Fleur, Flynn, Scarlet, Rozalin, Chester, Queen, Yang Ru, Moon-li, Eun-Song, Peter, Ava, Andrew, and Anna, each of them rushed toward us with worry on their faces. Each of them stared at their exhausted Messiah, being held up by someone who once lied and tried to kill me.
Myra slowly crawled her way out from under the Tree of Life, watching from the distance as Leonidas held me up with safety with my allies around me all equally worried. She looked up at the sky, noticing a subtle rainbow forming along the stars, the full presence of Genesis now resting upon V.J.I.