The skies above the Demon Country burned crimson and purple energies as two figures hovered in the air—Kazuma, the Spirit Lord of the Demon Clan, and his enemy, Zodia.
"I am the God of War and Chaos!" the man declared, his voice was firm and chilling. His crimson red armor gleaming with the huge amount of red energy beaming out of his body "I am Zodia. My goal is to wipe out this world into nothing, and then recreate it.".
Kazuma's expression darkened, his eyes narrowed.
"Zodia…? Wait a minute, ive heard that name before. It was in the legends and stuff. They say Zodia was one of the three children of Bansha, the god who created the universe and gifted power to everything. If that's true… then isn't it the god of creation Diablo was said to have reincarnated from?"
Before he could dwell on it further, Zodia suddenly vanished—reappearing behind him with terrifying speed. His foot shot forward in a devastating kick.
Kazuma reacted instantly. Energy surged into his palm, shaping itself into a radiant sword. With a sharp swing, he blocked the strike.
The sheer force of the blow, however, sent Kazuma flying across mountains. Crags shattered as his body tore through the terrain.
Groaning, Kazuma rose to his feet, brushing the dust from his cloak.
"This fight… I can't let it happen here. If we clash at full power, we'll destroy the Demon Country just by trading blows!".
High above, Zodia rocketed downward, his fist engulfed with a tramendous amount of power, aiming to blast Kazuma.
But Kazuma teleported away in a flash of purple light, reappearing hundreds of feet above Zodia. With ond hand, he conjured a colossal sword of purple energy and hurled it down at him.
The explosion that followed shook the Demon Country to its core, the sky itself trembling under the blast.
When the smoke cleared, Zodia rose calmly, his armor dented but his body unscathed. His crimson gaze narrowed as he assessed Kazuma.
"Hmph. So… he can shape energy into weapons, and at such destructive levels too. That attack alone could wipe out this entire country. Impressive… I'd say he's A-rank level."
Kazuma pointed his sword at him. "You came here to fight, right? Then let's go!"
He shot forward at speeds faster than light, launching an endless barrage of enormous energy blades.
Zodia smirked, he started to run, dodge and fly. He was effortlessly weaving between the rapid fire beams of energy Kazuma shot at him.Each swing missed its mark, detonating mountains and tearing the lands apart.
"Not bad!" Zodia laughed as explosions echoed around him. "In fact, this is kind of fun!"
Zodia jumped straight into the air, he and Kazuma started to go blow for blow with one another. Each blow they threw at each other were causing huge explosions of energy all over the air. They were flying at incredible speeds while showcasing incredible combat skills. Zodia was more experienced and skilled, but Kazuma kept up very well. Kazuma flew far into the air again, created circle of purple energy and fired it at Zodia.
Zodia barely evaded, his body grazing the edge of the blast. His expression hardened. He looked up and saw more beams of energy falling towards him. He started to run, fly and dodge every attack.
"That previous beam he shot before. That was a sealing technique! A high-level one at that! Where did he learn it from?! That attack had enough power to seal even a god!".
Kazuma clenched his fists, frustration. He flew down towards Zodia with thought racing down his head.
"He keeps dodging everything. Even my sealing technique too. Just who is this guy?! The legends say Zodia fought his brothers to the death and won. It was a battle that layed waste to entire stars and other celestial bodies in the way. It was also said that if a god-like being fought another of equal standing, both would lose a lot of their powers. Could it be… this Zodia is only using half of his true strength?!"
As they continued to clash in deadly combat that shook nearby countries and wiped out mountains, Zodia asked with excitement. "Hey you, what's your name?!"
Kazuma shot out a powerful beam of energy at Zodia. The beam caused a powerful explosion of energy. Kazuma flew to the ground and responded "I am the Spirit Lord who rules the Demon Country. I am Kazuma Starion."
"Well then, Kazuma," Zodia replied with a grin, "it's a pleasure to meet you. You're strong. If we weren't enemies, perhaps we could've been friends."
Kazuma's gaze sharpened. "Surprisingly, i feel the same way about you. I don't know why, but i feel like you and i would really get along. But i want to know something—why are you doing this?! Why come out of your way to destroy the Demon Country?!"
Zodia's tone turned cold along side his eyes narrowing . "I am trying to regain the powers I lost over a thousand years ago. I came here searching for that strength… and then you appeared. I sensed four powerful energies in this country: one from you, another from a woman who had just given birth, and from the newborn child itself. The fourth… is from a stone—one that seals away a monstrous beast with unimaginable power."
Kazuma's eyes widened. "He's talkinh about the Millennia Stone of Power…"
His fists widened like he wanted to tear something apart, a huge amount of purple light bursted from his spirit mark and unto the rest of his body. His energy surged like a purple lightning storm, it was shaking the sky as countless giant swords of pure energy manifested around him.
"This man, he's dangerous. At this rate, he's already fighting with at least fifty percent of his true strength. Even at half power, he could annihilate this country with a single attack. If he were at full power … both I and this entire country would already be gone."
Zodia narrowed his eyes, watching Kazuma's overwhelming energy bursting out of him.
"This man… he's built different. Giant weapons of energy, movements and attack speed over five hundred times the speed of light. Teleportation, extremely dangerous combat skills, and a sealing technique capable of binding even a god! …All that, I can handle."
He smirked and raised his arms as crimson energy engulfed him. "Alright, Kazuma the Spirit Lord… show me what you've got!!", Zodia exclaimed with excitement.
Kazuma's eyes narrowed, he started unleashing a barrage of purple beams. Zodia smirked, blitzed forward and started to weav through them, his speed and skills were incredible, dodging every blast as the land below burned with cataclysmic explosions of purple energy.
Suddenly, the two closed the distance. Their fists clashed, blow after blow, each strike faster than light. Their combat skills were insane and relentless, Zodia and Kazuma were punching and blasting each other accross mountains and the wastelands around them.The shockwaves shattered mountains, the force alone collapsing valleys and shaking the entire Demon Country.
From afar, Misaki held her newborn child close, her eyes locked on the sky.
"Kazuma…" she whispered, clutching Alex tightly. "Please… be safe."
The battle raged on, the two incredibly powerful MONSTERS were fighting at insane levels of power and explosive force.
Kazuma gritted his teeth. "He's fast… strong enough to dodge and counter my attacks even while weakened! If I don't find a way to end this, I'll be in serious trouble!", Kazuma thought to himself.
A sudden punch from Zodia broke his concentration, sending Kazuma flying straight into the ground. Hisbbody slammed into the earth, detonating the ground in a massive explosion.
Dust and rubble fell as Kazuma pushed himself up, panting. "Damn it! Even his punches are crazy!", he said to himself. He looked up at Zodia and asked "Let me ask you something, Zodia… why? Why are you doing this?"
Zodia hovered above him, his expression unreadable. "Why I'm doing this… is something I have to carry alone."
End of Chapter 15.