CHAPTER XVI
Dianne woke up to find herself in the middle of a white room filled with white mist, entirely empty and hollow. There was only Dianne alone in that space, without friends, without surroundings, without weapons, without a single shred of clothing. Several times Dianne tried to find a way out, but unfortunately it was in vain, because there was truly not a single gap she could pass through to free herself. Desperate, finally Dianne sat brooding on her buttocks and the soles of her feet while hugging her legs, silent without a single word. Dianne remembered what she had done before and realized that now she had truly become a burden to her friends and all of humanity.
Meanwhile, the battle conditions were completely chaotic. Latin verses about the arrival of the Destructor were truly heard being chanted by the Symbiotes who were trying to merge and form a new body. Although not yet fully formed, the half-finished appearance of that creature was truly terrifying, like a sprouting tree with a trunk that looked like centipede skin, the inside of which was packed with flesh so that everyone could see the trunk twitching. Kyle still lost his consciousness and was completely paralyzed by it; his eyes saw, his heart beat, but his body refused to move. Realizing the approaching danger, Kaizo took Kyle's communication device and ordered Mariabelle to create a shield to defend Olympus if at any time the creature suddenly attacked. Meanwhile, Alisa carried Kyle's body, which was already like it was without a soul, and led the entire army to retreat.
Kaizo did not want Olympus to continue attacking the growth of the creature's sprouts because previously he saw there was a laser shot from someone that hit the sprout exactly, but instead of destroying it, the wound from that attack immediately closed and instead increased twofold; since Olympus's attacks were also all based on heat lasers, it would make the monster grow even faster.
The remaining warriors of humanity who still survived now had to hide behind a hill that was good enough to be used because its location was not too close and not too far. Now everyone had truly lost hope and courage. Everyone sat brooding and regretted all the deeds they had ever done during the world they previously knew.
Something horrifying had appeared; a lump of flesh that merged to form a giant humanoid body attached to the part that looked like the chest of that creature. That humanoid form truly looked like Dianne, silent and bowing with a smirking face; her neck, her shoulders, and her thighs looked connected to that giant thing with a kind of hanging flesh fiber. Alisa, seeing this, then spoke with Kaizo, "It seems we really have to kill Dianne; I can't stand seeing that form full of suffering, right now she must be tormented."
Kaizo looked deeply into Alisa's eyes, which truly showed deep pity, but Kaizo could not think of that bad possibility which was truly not in his dictionary. "Killing one's own friend? That's bad, very bad!" he thought in his heart. Because of confusion, Kaizo then hugged Alisa because he knew very well that he had no desire to hurt anyone, including Dianne who now had truly become something different.
Kyle regained consciousness and stood with a blank stare; the one word uttered by him was, "Dianne must die..." Kyle walked to the back and met his troops to tell them that they were not allowed to give up yet.
"My friends! We can still win, we all see that human form; I am sure that is the weak point; if we destroy her, then we will win! Let's rise!!"
Everyone seemed a little excited because their leader showed that courage, but before long, Kaizo came and immediately gave a very hard slap that sent Kyle flying far away.
"Victory with sacrifice!? We have lost many lives today, and you still want to add more victims!?" snapped Kaizo.
"Everyone here also lost, Kaizo; they will still be sad even if they win, I will also be like that, so let it be as long as humanity can be safe," replied Kyle while sobbing.
Kaizo looked around and saw everyone agreeing with what was said by Kyle.
"Everyone who fights is brave enough to die, but of everyone who fights, no one truly wants themselves to die; we must think of a way so that Dianne is safe," said Kaizo.
"That's what makes you weak, Kaizo! You are truly naive; look at our condition, forget that idealism, act realistically!" Kyle snapped while sending tears flying from his face.
Kaizo fell silent, while Alisa came and hugged him. Alisa whispered, "Kyle is right this time, but I don't want Dianne to be sacrificed; she is too good for that." Those words made Kaizo even more convinced that he was on the right path.
Ali stood in the midst of the wounded soldiers, standing tall full of confidence as if spreading hope.
"My brothers, I do not know Dianne that well, but what I feel when seeing her is comfort; she is a good person who deserves to end well," Ali said to everyone.
Everyone was silent; no one argued because what Ali said was indeed true.
"Now look at Kaizo, our friend who was sent down from the sky for the sake of saving us. What if what is meant by saving is actually breaking this terrifying cycle, where when we start following our respective lusts, we will return to war even if we succeed in canceling this apocalypse? Wouldn't it just be in vain if we remain calculating people in a condition like this? Maybe actually we should forget our sadness for our heroes; maybe what Kaizo actually wants is that even though we lose many people, when we later remember them, we do not cry; we will laugh and be proud to have ever known them, so come on! Do not give up, do not be afraid, do not think about yourselves anymore; whoever dies today will become a true warrior! Who is honored by all the guardians of the sky! DEDICATE YOUR SOULS!!!!"
That speech shook the fear in the hearts of all humanity, urinating on fear and letting courage trample it. In the end, hope is what saved them. As long as hope remains, for that long too humans will endure.
Cheers accompanied by laughter of pride enveloped them, making people who had not yet found courage become brave, making those with a warrior soul become true heroes. Kaizo crossed his arms and smiled proudly. Ali stood among the crowd with a glint of light shining on him. Alisa held onto Kaizo next to her. Kyle finally realized what was actually happening; all this time he was too pressured by the state of the world, considering every carefully weighed step as the best, prioritizing the safety of everyone too much until he forgot his promise to Dianne. Kyle felt something that truly hurt his heart; because he was too shocked by Dianne's fate, he even forgot to hope, forgot to think about the most beautiful possibility that could still happen.
Kaizo approached Kyle and handed over a very bright light while saying, "Receive a little bit of Ryuuken's power; he can help you to save Dianne; I know, only you can do it."
Kyle saw Kaizo smiling at him.
"You can change to be as big as that creature; the rest is up to you."
A booming heavy voice was heard, shocking everyone. Kaizo laughed when Alisa hugged him out of fear.
"That is the spirit of this sword; his name is Ryuuken," Kaizo explained.
"What does it mean, changing to be big? Kaizo?" asked Kyle.
"You will know it; Ryuuken will show it," answered Kaizo.
While Kyle was still confused, Kaizo turned around and spoke to Mariabelle over the radio, "Lower as many fighter jets as you can; if you are ready to be heroes, then you can use 'that' now."
"Ready! Understood!" answered Mariabelle.
From Olympus, hundreds of other fighter jets were lowered. Iron birds ready to protect humanity circled around them before finally landing calmly. One plane could fit five people, while the rest who could not board the planes would fight from the ground with the remaining tanks and some were ready from a distance using sniper rifles.
Mariabelle began to mobilize everyone inside Olympus to immediately enter the president's residence and not a single one could be left behind because they would perform Olympus's heaviest effort. Mariabelle arrived in her room and pushed her desk out to find a red button with a danger sign mounted above it. Without thinking long, Mariabelle pressed that button which caused an emergency siren to sound. Shaking occurred and the shield disappeared. Olympus slowly descended and the giant iron was seen moving. Several components opened, several components closed, and hot gas came spraying out from every joint.
A giant robot controlled from within, Einherjar of The Earth, abbreviated as E-TE. Everyone was amazed to see that, making Ryuuken hot and wanting to rival that robot.
"Come on! Kyle, shout and save this world!"
Kyle, without knowing anything, immediately jumped and shouted very loudly as he realized he was left behind from the group of Kaizo and Alisa and the warriors who had already flown with planes.
Kyle felt something trying to come out of his body as a bright white light shone from his chest. Instead of returning to the ground after jumping, Kyle instead kept floating higher and higher. A humanoid silhouette formed from that light until finally his physical form began to be seen clearly. A giant with a black body and glowing blue accents. His eyes were bright blue while from his shoulders came a spray of blue fire. Kyle's height at this time was 7000 m, almost exactly like the height of the E-TE robot. With these two great powers, they were able to fight again. Their opponent was the adult Destructor with a body height exceeding Mount Everest and a width of more than 5 km. Its body was dense, filled with flesh; its head, which was half-hard on the top, formed a crown and displayed its one eye looking down on them all while its mouth was agape and dripping saliva. On its chest, the duplicate body of Dianne in a large enough size was clearly displayed. Its large arms were in the shape of very large and sharp sickles. Its body grew firmly from the ground so that half of its body was a leg tree trunk made of hard exoskeleton that looked like centipede skin.
The battle of the sunrise wager began exactly in the early hours of December 27th at 3 in the morning.
Hundreds of planes flew circling the Destructor and continued to shoot it without stopping with a barrage of lasers. Sparks accompanied by the burning of the creature's body lit up the war. Kyle moved forward and hit the one-eyed face with a very hard and heavy punch, making the Destructor tilt slightly. E-TE did not stay silent, immediately darted with thrusters and landed with a shake exactly behind the Destructor and immediately fired hundreds of oxygen bomb missiles. If they could not use nukes, then oxygen bombs were the solution. The Destructor went on a rampage and swung those sickle arms in all directions, releasing wind slashes capable of splitting mountains far from their location. A giant of such an insane size indeed became a big problem.
Ali, who drove one of the fighter jets, showed his skill which was somehow obtained from somewhere, succeeded in almost severing the Destructor's right hand until almost blinding its eye in one turn. But the Destructor would not lose easily; it again shouted, which released dozens of tentacles from underground, destroying many fighter jets and briefly complicating E-TE's movement by entangling it together. Kyle was thrown and fell so as to shake the ground and mess up the movement of the tanks walking below them. Kyle briefly thought why Kaizo did not use this power, but he soon realized that this power truly drained energy which was the most important thing for Kaizo and if it wasn't Kyle who used this form, clearly they were in danger. Kyle felt exhaustion due to the large amount of his energy being drained; slowly his vision began to fade, but Dianne's form that crossed his mind forced Kyle to push himself beyond the limit to continue fighting. Kyle slowly rose without fear.
"I knew it, he really fits with that!" said Kaizo while hanging on the Destructor's body.
Alisa flew exactly behind Kaizo to give a ride. Kaizo jumped and rode Alisa so he could approach the Destructor while saving energy.
Exactly beside the one-eyed giant face, Kaizo jumped and slashed the large eye that looked very disgusting while shouting, "FEEL THIS!"
The wind blew his mantle and hair and hit his face; Kaizo passed the wind friction while taking momentum to give the most painful slash. The black sword began to glow sea blue, burning, until finally by strengthening his grip, Kaizo swung the sword from top to bottom until creating a flash of slash that released blue lightning repeatedly with a sound resembling the screech of an eagle.
"ZRASSSSSHH"
The slash succeeded in splitting the Destructor's eye until it could not see. Not wanting to give in, the Destructor raised its hand and created a lightning storm that messed up the movement of the fighter jets until making hundreds of those planes fall like mosquitoes slapped by a mosquito racket. Ali, who was already ready to die, was instead kicked back until stuck in the emergency seat by his crew members who were people from the village he led. The last thing Ali saw was the villagers giving a salute to Ali before finally the plane was sucked out and released a parachute. Ali clenched his fist and placed that fist on his left chest as he saw the plane get hit by lightning and explode, shattered into pieces.
Fasilis, who was inside a tank, was being tried to be saved by his comrades, but Fasilis's condition, having already lost one leg, made it difficult for him to get out and made the lives of the entire crew threatened because their fighter jets began to fall. Heavy rain poured down even harder until creating a mist. At the last moments, Fasilis ordered, "Brothers! Do not worry about me; this is my time; save yourselves and go! This is an order! Do not disobey me, you fools! Mwahaha!" With a heavy heart, the crew gave a cigar butt and a lighter to Fasilis, which he accepted. They left the captain. In solitude, Fasilis placed the cigar on his lips and lit it. He enjoyed his last moment until finally a plane fell free and hit the tank until both exploded and were consumed by fire. Fasilis fell.
Dianne, who was imprisoned, was forced to see all that; it truly hurt her because everyone was truly still trying to save her even if they had to sacrifice their lives. Dianne's tears broke when she saw Kyle succeed in reaching her again after falling many times. Even though Kyle's form did not display expression, from her heart Dianne could see Kyle's face which was truly serious about saving her.
The Destructor felt the threat, immediately raised its hand again and was about to slash Kyle. E-TE under Mariabelle's control immediately caught the sickle arm. Alisa charged with a plasma sword at full power until it shone as bright as the sun. In one slash, the Destructor's right hand was severed. That hand fell until almost hitting the soldiers below, making them all terrified and almost losing their lives. Kaizo appeared like a flash and saved them all with his parry which was able to make that giant arm crumble.
Kyle, who was exactly in front of the Destructor, was immediately caught by millions of tentacles which were now trying to absorb him to be used as a new energy source. Kyle's hands and feet were fully stuck so they were difficult to release. Flesh fibers appeared and tried to eat his head. Seeing that, Kaizo swiftly kicked Ali who immediately arrived at the location of one of the snipers. Quickly Ali took his weapon and immediately shot with a precision that was beyond logic from that very far distance. Ali succeeded in destroying the head of the humanoid figure resembling Dianne on the chest of the Destructor, which turned out indeed to be the heart for the Destructor, making it writhe in pain and release Kyle. With energy almost vanished and sweat that kept dripping, Kyle in that giant humanoid hero form exerted his last effort to mobilize the best punch for the sake of snatching Dianne from the monster's hands.
From a world that only belongs to oneself,
Showing fangs
Is something that anyone can do.
But surpassing the fear in the heart,
I want to know more
I want to walk toward tomorrow with you.
Open that way
A world that becomes one because of bonds.
If hearts are linked to each other,
That future is surely no longer far.
Because with you everyone can make it happen.
You have given me miracles and courage.
Kyle only had one motivation; if everyone was brave enough to sacrifice for him, then he must not let Dianne vanish. A hard punch hit the Destructor's body, but once again the Symbiotes again showed their special ability. The Destructor adapted and could withstand that hard punch and even more strongly gripped Kyle. Mariabelle mobilized most of E-TE's power to launch a ultimate attack called "Heavenly Destructive Beam," which would focus a lot of energy at once exactly toward the Destructor from E-TE's chest to smash it into pieces. With burning anger, Mariabelle released that destructive laser, but how shocked they were when the attack instead reflected and instead destroyed E-TE's left arm. The large robot shook, losing balance.
Again with its breakthrough, the Destructor could spin fully so that the planted stiff body could face backward and hit back E-TE. Kyle had more and more difficulty freeing himself, added by the Destructor now trying to tear Kyle's body with its left arm. But surprisingly, it fell silent as if frozen in place. The monster was terrified when it realized hundreds of capybaras were climbing its body, giving the opportunity for Kaizo to then fly and slash the flesh fibers gripping Kyle's body.
Kaizo created hundreds of bridge wire ropes and let them fall and be held by the brave ones below. With Alisa's help, Kaizo together flew the ropes and wrapped around the Destructor. Thousands of warriors who still survived now released all their abilities. Forgetting their essence as ordinary humans with an adrenaline rush. Now they were not fighting to win the battle; they were fighting for the sake of surviving. This is the true power of human determination that cannot be tamed.
"Pull!!!!" Ali's command shook the air, turning rainwater into power.
"Water is the source of life! This heavy rain becomes a sign of the blessing of our struggle! Do not give up! Blood is spilled, but it is forbidden to be afraid; it is forbidden to retreat! We are humans! The peak of all God's created creatures! The most powerful nation in the entire universe! DEDICATE YOUR SOULS!" Ali shouted while pulling the rope together with the warriors, burning fear and flying it as the brightest hope. The Destructor was more and more unable to do anything.
E-TE rose and immediately hit the Destructor's back with a very hard punch with its right hand, making the destroyer lose balance. Alisa dived from the sky and slashed the Destructor's head until split halfway. Kaizo flew horizontally and broke through the human speed limit until causing a shockwave behind him and released all that momentum in one punch that immediately crushed the creature's ribs until pushed back again. With an irrational acceleration, Kaizo exerted a series of cosmic-powered punches that even shook the dimension. The punches continued and sounded like the sound of thousands of machine gun bullet shots. Kaizo spun around in the air while swinging his sword to take momentum and until one point he slammed a hard punch through the wide side of his sword until severing the Destructor's head completely.
The chance for Kyle.
Now he could see Dianne's body because much flesh had detached from the Destructor's body. Although Ryuuken warned him that missing a little would make Dianne die, Kyle believed Dianne would surely be safe and prepared the ultimate punch. Kyle prepared a stance that made his right hand glow bright blue. Blue fire blazed and the air evaporated.
Kyle darted flying toward the Destructor. With full power, that punch hit and caused an incredibly powerful explosion. Kaizo protected all the soldiers by erasing the air so that no fire could spread out of the explosion zone. Even so, that punch reached splitting the clouds until forming an empty space without clouds as far as thousands of kilometers.
E-TE succeeded in dodging while Alisa and Kaizo succeeded in saving all the warriors to a safe place.
Their hero giant vanished, turning into grains resembling glowing snow, a sign the fight was over. Everyone finally could rest peacefully, laying their bodies down to sit leaning on both hands behind.
The Destructor was gone.
Kyle and Dianne stood exactly on top of the remains of the Destructor's body planted in the ground. Both looked at each other, releasing longing.
Everyone witnessed that moment as the first entertainment after the disappearance of the destroyer. Kaizo and Alisa walked around the soldiers to ensure their conditions until meeting Ali, who truly became a hero for all their morale. The person cast out by humans, instead became the most meritorious warrior in history.
"You are cool!" said Kaizo to Ali.
Ali laughed and answered, "It's nothing; I only tried to be like Superman."
The people who heard it, including Kaizo, Alisa and even Ali himself, were made to laugh.
But.....
"The sun is rising from the west!!!"
Said someone who sat in the very back row, making everyone turn and witness that truth.
At 4 in the morning, dawn rose in the western horizon, a sign of disaster.
"Master... What does this mean!? Did I fail!?" Kaizo muttered while grumbling while everyone was hit by confusion and panic.
"I see... Hey, my brothers, it seems the reward for us is not the return of our world; we will be taken to heaven; so instead of being afraid, we should spend our last moments with things worth remembering when we meet again up there, okay? I am happy to have ever met you all!" Ali said, breaking the noise.
Everyone fell silent and began to cry, not because of fear, but because of happiness.
E-TE released everyone inside it, letting the heroes meet again with their closest ones. Wives met with their husbands, mothers gathered with their children, and parents found their families again. Although some were not complete, they were proud to have family who had become heroes; everyone was no longer afraid of the apocalypse because togetherness instead became a calmer in a time like this. It wasn't sadness that was spilled along with the subsiding rain, but warmth that had never been imagined by anyone.
Alisa hugged Kaizo very tightly and asked, "What will happen to you if you fail?"
Kaizo returned the hug gently.
"Yeah, the goddess of life might come down and pick me up, then I will be returned to my place of origin."
"I see, so... how many girls have you made like this; we will separate, how much of a loss for me."
"Be calm, you don't need to think about it; even if later I am no longer with you, I will not forget you; if only I succeeded, I would not go home this soon."
"I know, I hope you are happy with her...."
Alisa knew that Kaizo would eventually be with the queen he loved in silence. Although bitter, Alisa remained happy enough to cry because she had known Kaizo this far.
A bright light shone on Kaizo; someone descended. The most beautiful woman everyone had ever seen relatively, the goddess of life, Yggdrasil had arrived.
Kaizo and Alisa witnessed the sincere smile of a mother on Yggdrasil's face.
"Kaizo, I hope to be able to visit a lush forest with you and imagine myself laughing at you who fell into a puddle of mud," joked Alisa.
"If it's real, maybe I will give the most delicious fruit that you will remember forever."
After saying that, Kaizo and Alisa kissed very passionately. Breaths touched with closed eyes to enjoy a pleasure they might never get again. Each could feel the warmth of their lips when touching.
Finished.
Kaizo walked away while waving his hand to everyone and holding onto Yggdrasil's hand.
"Maybe you failed, Kaizo, but I will still try to help you next time; I hope Lord Vernizel is willing to accept you," said Yggdrasil to Kaizo.
"Thank you, Yacchan; I don't know how I can repay you who has helped me much, starting from giving courage to Kyle, saving Dianne from that ultimate attack, until letting them all be happy in this sad moment," said Kaizo to Yggdrasil.
Kaizo and Yggdrasil slowly lifted to the sky and vanished in a brilliant bright light.
The hero who came for them had now gone.
Alisa hugged a small doll made by Kaizo right then and there as a sign of parting. Alisa looked at the lump of yarn formed resembling a frog that looked cute because it smiled at her.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Dianne were still looking at each other until finally Dianne said, "I'm sorry." Dianne realized that this chaos was because of herself who felt she could not be useful until trying to do something stupid like that.
"Everyone forgives you, Dianne; now what is left is just the two of us, without any more disturbance from anything." said Kyle.
"I am the one who should apologize; I could not bring you to the pyramids as you wanted; I failed, Dianne," Kyle continued while bowing his head.
"It's okay, it's not a problem, because you are here; it is more beautiful than every dream I have," Dianne lifted Kyle's face until both eyes looked at each other closely.
....
The oceans rise like giants, swallowing the dying shore,
And every clock is breaking, saying we can't wait anymore.
Yet somehow in this chaos, I only see your trembling eyes—
A universe collapsing… but your heartbeat never lies.
If this is fate's design, then let me change just one last line—
I want my final breath to say you've always been mine.
The thunder sounds like crying from a heaven torn apart,
But even storms grow quiet when you wrap around my heart.
I used to fear tomorrow, now tomorrow's letting go—
But your arms feel like a promise in a world I'll never know.
If endings must be written, let our sorrow still be sweet—
Let me fall into your warmth before the night and I both sleep.
So take my hand, don't turn away,
Let fading stars be our runway.
If all that's left is shattered skies,
Then let love bloom as daylight dies.
And if the earth forgets our names,
We'll carve our truth through fire and flames—
Where the world ends… my heart begins with you.
I used to dream of mornings, of the sun inside your smile,
But now the dawn is trembling, and it won't stay for a while.
Still, if this is our final chapter, I won't waste a single page—
I'll love you past the dying light, beyond the universe's cage.
Don't cry for what we're losing—cry for what we finally found:
A love that grew in silence while the world fell to the ground.
I never felt this certain, not until the skies turned black,
And all the stars went drifting with no promise coming back.
Strange how the end of everything could make my heart so sure—
That the only truth that matters now is you—so warm, so pure.
If heaven shuts its gates tonight and hell begins to rise,
Then let me die inside your arms, with your name as my sunrise.
Together
Let meteors fall like rain,
Let Ocean drown the plains—
As long as you hold me tight,
There's still a spark inside the night.
Let galaxies be torn apart,
But nothing breaks a faithful heart.
Let all creation fade to dust…
As long as you're the last to trust.
If the world had one more second, I'd spend it on your lips.
If mountains crumble under us, I'd hold you through the slips.
I'm not afraid of darkness when your fingers cling to mine—
Because you light a dying universe better than any sun could shine.
And if the sky collapses, I will shield you with my soul;
If time devours the daylight, I'll still call your name whole.
Your love became my refuge when all hope was torn apart—
You turned a world of endings into poetry for my heart.
So let the final sirens sound,
Let heaven crash onto the ground.
Let stars explode and oceans freeze,
Let every prayer dissolve in breeze.
But if the world must disappear,
Then promise you'll stay close, my dear—
For when creation breathes its last,
Our love will echo through the vast.
And if forever cannot stay…
Then take my hand and fade away.
Where the world ends…
My heart begins…
with you.
Finally both Kyle and Dianne could say it to each other.
"I love you."
Before finally they were together again and closed their eyes when the earth exploded and shattered into pieces.