The battlefield where Alex and Zodia clashed had been completely ravaged. Gigantic craters littered the land, mountains were burned down to nothing but scorched remains, and thick smoke rose endlessly from the shattered ground. The air itself felt heavy, saturated with heat, ash, and lingering energy.
Zodia hovered high in the air, his gaze drifting toward the night sky where a full moon shone brightly above the destruction.
He spoke quietly to himself. "It's just a matter of time," he said calmly. "Despite only having fifty to seventy percent of my power… I'm still this strong." A faint smirk formed on his face "Let me test myself a little longer before going all out. The humans may be weak, but some of them are worth looking at, especially the powerful solidiers of previous generations that once existed on this planet. I have no intention to fall in love with this world, but it sure does amuse me.", his grin widened "I'll make sure this world is nothing but some and dust when I'm done with it.". After thinking to himself, Zodia sighed and slowly began counting down. "Three… Two… One.". Suddenly, two massive arms made entirely of lava burst violently from the ground, racing straight toward him.
Zodia's eyes narrowed as he instantly took flight, dodging at incredible speed. The molten arms relentlessly chased after him, burning and destroying everything in their path as they tore through the battlefield.
At the same time, a colossal eruption of flames exploded from the ground below.
Alex emerged from the inferno, floating upward with eyes glowing red, sparks of energy crackling around him. An overwhelming amount of flames and demonic energy poured out of his body.
Alex screamed in pure rage "AAAAAAAAGAH!".
From the ground, countless giant arms of energy erupted and surged forward, all targeting Zodia at once.
Seeing this, Zodia was slightly impressed.
"Even after unlocking your full power as a demon," Zodia remarked, effortlessly dodging the attacks, "you're still completely out of control."
He smiled faintly.
"You're already far more powerful than many I've fought over the centuries… including your father. Although, if he was still alive, the kind of power he would have had up until now would have been a problem for me. Good thing i killed him."
The giant arms chased him relentlessly, each impact causing massive explosions across the battlefield. Yet Zodia simply smiled as a tremendous amount of energy burst from his body, completely clearing away all of Alex's attacks in an instant.
Alex gritted his teeth and began charging an enormous amount of energy.
The pressure alone created violent gusts of wind that swept across the battlefield. The winds blew miles upon miles
Gathering power throughout his body, Alex shot into the air at great speeds that were twice as fast as his previous speed, compressing all that energy into a single form. A massive blade of death took shape in his hands.
He roared:
"Thermal Nuclear Blade of Death!"
Alex unleashed the attack at full power.
The explosion that followed engulfed the continent, shaking the land violently.
From within the smoke, Zodia burst out with a wild,insane smile on his face. In a flash, he closed the distance and drove his hand straight into Alex's chest.
"Some," Zodia said coldly, "you're only stronger than some of the people I've fought."
"You're still just a child compared to them."
Zodia pulled his hand from Alex's chest and shouted:
"BOY, SIT DOWN!".
He delivered a brutal kick that sent Alex crashing into mountains. Alex crashed through giant hills and mountains "What the hell was that?! A kick?!". Zodia flew after him and started blitzing Alex across the battlefield until he punched him to the ground with devastating force. Debries shot all over the place, giant stones crashing into the ground, dust covering the battlefield.
Alex lay there on the floor, bleeding heavily as his new form dissipated. He tried to stand, but his legs failed him. Blood poured from his mouth as he vomited onto the ground "GHOUHHH! Damn it, it's hard to breath. My stomach hurts, it's probably bursted on impact of that punch.".
Inside his mind, his inner demon spoke.
"Leave the regenerating to me. You focus on gathering energy.", Alex responded "Easier said than done. It's gonna take a while for that to happen.".
Zodia descended slowly and landed near him.
"You put up a good fight, kid," Zodia admitted. "You really did."
He looked down at Alex.
"You're even more impressive than your father, and that says a lot. Even he managed to excite me, and that really says a lot."
Zodia raised his hand toward Alex, energy beginning to gather.
"If you can tank the attack I'm about to launch," he said calmly "I'll give you a free hit on me."
"But if you can't…"
A cruel grin spread across his face.
"Then I'll just destroy the entire planet all at once."
Alex burned with anger "The entire planet? You bastard!", but his body refused to respond.
Zodia fired the attack.
The resulting explosion was monstrous—accompanied by a thunderstorm and a shockwave that traveled across the entire world.
When the smoke cleared, Alex was seen just standing berely.
One arm was completely burned, and the hole in his chest was slowly regenerating. His legs trembled as he struggled to remain upright.
"I don't have enough energy to regenerate fully.", Alex thought desperately.
"If he hit my heart… I'd be dead. How do I deal with this guy?"
Alex's consciousness slipped into his inner world.
"Can't you give me more power or something?" he shouted at his demon. "I'm dying here!"
"I can't," the demon replied. "I already used everything I had just to keep your second-stage form active. Normally, you'd last five minutes. I pushed it to an hour.". Alex exclaimed "AN HOUR?!".
A pause.
"You're welcome."
Zodia began clapping slowly.
"Wow," he said. "I honestly didn't expect you to still be standing."
He smirked.
"But that wasn't even an attack. That was just the impact of me preparing one."
Alex's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Zodia forming a massive ball of energy above him.
"How am I supposed to avoid that…?", Alex asked himself
"You fought well," Zodia continued. "But I'm done playing."
"I'll send you to the same place I sent your father… and your entire kind."
Zodia dropped the attack.
At that instant, a streak of purple lightning tore through the sky.
Kazuki crashed in like a thunderbolt, punching the attack straight into the sky. The resulting explosion spread across the surface of the earth, even tho the attack was near another planet in the solar system.
Alex looked up in shock.
Standing before him was Kazuki, his body clad in slim armor made of crackling purple lightning.
Kazuki glanced back and smiled.
"You okay, buddy?" he asked. "Don't worry. I'll take care of this."
Alex was wide eyed for a moment "Kazuki?", he muttered before he smiled and then immediately snapped.
"Where the fuck were you?!" he yelled. "I've been fighting a level-99, maxed-out nuclear weapon of an enemy while you show up acting fly as hell?!"
Kazuki frowned. "Shut up, idiot! Where were you when I was getting my ass kicked by a higher up? If not for plot, I'd be dead."
"You're not seeing the pearly white gates of heaven," Alex shot back.
Zodia tilted his head.
"…Um. Hello. I'm still here."
Kazuki smirked. "So you're the guy causing all those explosions and thunderstorms."
Purple lightning surged violently around him as a lightning sword formed in his hand.
Zodia grinned in genuine interest.
"You're impressive," he said. "What's your name?"
Kazuki's smile turned devilish.
"Kazuki Takanoguro."
"And I'll be the one to kill you."
END OF CHAPTER