Claudio stared at me with a calm smirk, his silver hair flowing in the wind and his tattoos humming with a celestial blue energy, blue lightning crackling around his body. He held his hand out toward Fortune, activating the Love Sigil upon her chest and manifesting a golden amulet around his neck.
"Through my coming up, I've studied extensively upon the most potent forms of martial arts, Budo, Kung Fu, Valkyrian Arts, even dabbled in Feng Shui. You have no idea what you're truly in for!" Claudio declared, dashing toward me with a calculated strike to my chest.
A pillar of Abyssal Energy fell upon Claudio's body, Dulling his strength before his attack could land, his fist landing upon my chest and dealing minimum damage. Claudio recoiled back in slight surprise, shaking his head and striking my cheek with a swift punch.
Tanking his punch, I moved my eyes to look at him then turned my head pushing his fist away and turned the other cheek, allowing him to throw one more attack. Claudio couldn't understand why his strength was Dulled, but he launched another strike with all his might, luckily landing a Critical Blow to slightly stagger me.
"Heh, not so tough now are you!?" Claudio laughed, throwing a kick toward me with water surrounding his leg.
My body became a crimson silhouette and warped behind him, grabbing his collar and tossing him forward. Claudio rolled backwards along the ground and recovered onto one knee, looking up and noticing me warp toward him with a Lion Fist.
Luckily, Claudio's body autonomously evaded my strike and moved into a stance to perfectly block my next strike. He pushed me back and began launching rapid strikes and kicks, but I evaded each one with calculated steps then phased through his next strike, countering with double leaping kicks, launching him and myself in the air.
"Zodiac Arts: Leo Flame Burst!" I roared, taking a deep breath and blowing out a barrage of fireballs shaped as lion heads toward Claudio.
Claudio groaned as my fireballs rained down upon his body, each explosion sending him crashing back down to the ground. He rebounded off one hand then summoned a Wind Talisman in his hand, tossing it toward me in the sky.
I caught his talisman then launched one of my butterflies toward him, warping to Fortune and slapping the talisman upon her face, the paper spell shining a bright green light before detonating into a large wind storm. Fortune groaned as she was blown away, sent flying backwards into Mua and Regina.
Claudio grunted softly as he noticed his golden amulet shatter from around his neck as Fortune was taken out of commission. "One hit..? That's all it took..?"
I stood strong in front of Claudio, my hair emitting flares and my eyes shining brightly with true Resolve. "What? You didn't think I knew how your powers work? You know, I'm starting to understand you a lot more...you're nothing like Shiro Moji or Ryder Dawn.."
"Though they were False Saviors, they knew they were...and they let go of the System. That's why Ryder left Hisumi, to protect her mission. That's how Shiro still rose to Heaven...he submitted to the Truth. You? You're what they were warning us about..." I finished, getting into my Lion's Stance and extracted the claws of my gauntlets.
Claudio smirked at my statement, though my words stirred his spirit with anger at the truths I spoke. He let out a cold laugh, getting into his stance once again as well. "Mua, Regina! Get Fortune out of here and target this bastard's mother and that traitor Leonidas!"
"Squad V, your task as my Apostles is to defend my mother and Clover with your life! Do not let them fall, and do not worry about Leonidas. He has Arcane and Henosis with him," I said, keeping my focus upon Claudio.
With both of our orders spoken, both of our sides hurried off to complete their tasks, the race to the Tree of Life beginning. The stakes couldn't be any higher, my equal setting out on stopping me no matter the cost while I will have prophecy fulfilled.
My body became a blur as I used my raw speed to appear in front of Claudio with a blinding Lion Fist, but Claudio managed to dodge my strike and went for his own Destiny Flash yet I evaded his strike. The two of us began clashing, blocking, and dodging each other's attacks while rushing through the Main Courtyard.
We began to take out battle to the skies, our endless clashing continuing as we were still evenly matched as The Chronicles foretold. I blocked Claudio's next strike and countered with a knee strike to his stomach, in which he responded with a clean punch to the face.
Laneret stood atop of the Libra Department, watching our battle from the distance with her hands in her lab coat pockets. "Those two...yes, they are the most even I've seen. Should we interfere?"
"Genesis wouldn't be too pleased if we did. Besides, Nox is handling his own well. I see no need to intervene unless we absolutely have to. This is one of the most important days for him, we should choose wisely when to act," Abylon replied, keeping a keen eye on my fight against Claudio.
Claudio roared as he flew toward me with a strike as I bellowed while flying toward him with my own strike, the two of us striking each other's cheeks and repelling one another away. I flew backwards and reverted back into my normal form, my Butterflies taking formation of the Aquarius Constellation.
My hair began a wavy blue like the ocean under a starry night, my eyes shifting into a light blue hue. Powerful winds spiralled around my body, clouds forming over my head in a halo formation, each of my butterflies fluttering around the storm cloud above my head with water energy surrounding them.
"Another Zodiac Form...I'm assuming you can tap into all of them?" Claudio scoffed, staring at me with a mix of curiosity and fake amusement.
"What do you think? You can use all nine aspects of your System right? Ambition, Lust, Talent, Charisma, Passion, Empathy, Luck, Flirtation, and Romance am I correct? Without your Love Demons present, you don't have nearly as much capability as you think," I said, looking down at my hand and balling it into a fist.
"While Heaven is on my side, the Spirit Realm is on my side, the Sacred Realm is on my side. Your power is only finite, temporary, dependent on false gods and a Golden Star. Me? I'm fueled by Truth and the Strength, Might, and Power of God," I finished, raising my gaze to look at Claudio once again.
Claudio laughed at my comments then flared his aura around his body, his aura also flashing iridescent hues. "Yeah? Well, I have also have a Most High, and Her name is Momoji, the Goddess of Willpower and Ambition! Your Truth...will never be able to stand to mine!"
"Is that so? Then allow me to show you The Way, The Truth, and The Light!" I retorted, flaring my Iridescent Energy around my body and multicolored light flashing around my body with conviction.
------------------------
Myra rushed through the plaza area of the Virgo Department, glancing around for any combatants that could potentially ambush them. Suddenly, a wave of Paladins swarmed in like wolves in the night, their swords held high in attempt of slaying both Clover and Myra.
A loud roar echoed in the distance, a water dragon rushing toward the Paladins and washing them away in one sweep with Leonidas not too far behind. He soon caught up to Myra and Clover, checking on them to make sure they weren't hurt.
"Lady L'Ten— I mean Mother Myra, you shouldn't go to the Tree of Life alone, not when there's a huge target on your back. I'll go with you, come on," Leonidas said, gently grabbing Myra's arm, but she snatched her arm away with a frown.
"I'm not going with you, not as long as you see me as that demon," Myra bemoaned, huffing at Leonidas and pushing forward with frustrated marches. "Besides...you pridefully boasted about ruining my son's life! If he didn't— Tch!"
Leonidas groaned lightly and rushed in front of Myra once again, this time standing directly in front of her path. "Mother—" Leonidas began, but could only watch Myra phase through his body like a specter, causing his whole body to shudder uncomfortably.
"At least I have an excuse on why I'm targeting my own blood, my last blood! You...You don't have an excuse other than your own pride!" Myra huffed, continuing forward with an indignant expression.
Leonidas sucked his teeth lightly with a sigh and turned around with annoyance, his peripherals catching a figure in noble white clothing, wielding a jolting spear with lightning energy crackling around it. Without wasting a second, he activated his Crest of Arcane and threw his sword forward and warped toward it as the figure pulsed forward with immense speed.
The two ended up clashing, Leonidas landing a perfect parry to repel the figure away from Myra. Myra gasped as she glanced backwards, noticing Leonidas protecting her from the mysterious combatant and clutched Clover tighter, a single black chain slowly emerging from her lower back.
"Who are you, and what District do you belong to?" Leonidas asked, pointing Yeshan toward the figure with a glare.
The figure charged his spear with energy, getting into his stance and readied his shield, his white two tail long coat flowing elegantly behind him. "Gerald, Co-Commander of the 1st Vanguard of the Orion Hunters. The Holy Order ordered for the downfall for the newly birthed Dark Lord of Nature."
"You standing in my way doesn't look good for you, Dean of V.J.I. Now, redeem yourself and strike down the child and that woman!" Gerald ordered, yellow lightning crackling around his dark colored hair and glowing yellow eyes.
Leonidas glanced back at Myra and Clover, his mind filling with all the wrongs he's done to the Exzodian Family, Myra's words echoing in his head on repeat. He turned his gaze back to Gerald, shifting his sword into its Willbreaker Forme, the blade becoming an ethereal purple and the hilt circling the handle with angelic designs.
"I refuse. I will deal with the Holy Resistance myself once all of this is said and done, but for now...your target is me," Leonidas declared, his Crest of Arcane humming brightly with immense conviction.
Gerald scoffed at Leonidas with contempt, gripping the handle of his weapon tighter. "Just like your Ancestor, ready to save a woman whenever the opportunity arises."
"What can I say? Solomon gave me wisdom and Ryoma taught me how to protect with a smug smile," Leonidas retorted, a smirk forming on his face as the personality of The Foolish Warlord began to awaken, the Spirit of Ryoma Miyazaki.
Gerald scoffed at Leonidas, shifting his right leg forward and bolted forward with a powerful thrust toward Leonidas's chest, but Leonidas immediately shifted into his Atren Stance, perfectly countering Gerald and knocking him off balance. Leonidas chuckled lightly and wiped his nose with his thump, lifting his head slightly.
"Now you're going to see the other half of the Line of Henosis and Luca, the power of The Tyrant," Leonidas said, the Dagrax Sigil appearing over his Crest of Arcane.
Leonidas rushed forward at near invisible speeds, leaping forward with a powerful kick to Gerald's stomach, a second impact sending him flying backwards. Gerald recovered quickly in the air, noticing Leonidas warping toward him and quickly deployed his shield to block Leonidas's slash, five delayed slices overpowering his defense and repelling his arm.
Gerald landed on the ground and generated lightning into his spear, aiming it forward and releasing a powerful beam of lightning toward Leonidas. Leonidas gave a smug grin as he stood still in front of the beam, tanking the blast and withstanding the massive explosion.
"Leo—" Myra gasped, her body jolting in shock and her hand quickly covering her mouth.
"If there's one thing Nox has shown me...it's that August and Ryoma were truly Henosis and Luca just reversed with different paths. Nox set that straight when he was born," Leonidas said from the smoke cloud, swiping his hand and clearing out the smoke, a white cape flowing behind him.
Gerald stared at Leonidas with a glare, noticing white and golden armor now upon his body and a single crown over his head. He noticed the Crest of Arcane upon the breastplate of his armor, his eyes now returning to meet Leonidas's.
"Ryoma did one thing right, and that was allowing Ascea to be known upon the Earth. Lived until 195 with many children and wisdom, even perfected the Zodiac Forms that Nox uses. However, one thing remained true. He was Luca the Tyrant as well, God's Left Hand," Leonidas said, his rainbow aura flowing powerfully around his body.
"Is that... Ryoma's Emperor's Form? Nox really healed him...after so long, he's able to use it again," Myra whispered softly, her gaze unable to turn away from the messianic force flaring around Leonidas's body.
"Hmph, so you are from Ragnarok's side of the Divine Family. Figures that you'd be one of them taken your Original Ancestor, Solomon, had dominion over the Spirit Realm. Crests and Spirits is what Ryoma mastered," Gerald said knowledgeably, taking on his stance once more.
Leonidas hummed with a grin, sticking his sword into the ground and crossed his arms. "It is true that my ancestor, Ryoma Miyazaki, did master Crests and Spirits from Basic to Divine with the help of Solomon's Ring and the Crest of Henosis, back when he was the Savior on Earth.."
"So what? Are you scared of seeing what the Emperor of the Yeshan Country can do? You should be. This is Leonidas Yascea you're facing! Now, stand down or fall with the rest of your bretheren," Leonidas said with divine authority, his Crest shining brightly upon his breastplate.
"That won't be happening. Genesis's Law says all Dark Lords are the enemy and anyone who sides with them will become the enemy! Darkness doesn't belong on Earth," Gerald retorted, lightning crackling around his body like a raging storm.
"Genesis said that? I wonder if she knows She did," Leonidas laughed, taking his sword out of the ground and getting into his stance once more.
Gerald dashed toward Leonidas and leaped toward him with a thunderous swing of his lance, his weapon crashing down at lightning speeds, but Leonidas swiftly parried his attack and went for a counter which was blocked by Gerald's shield. Gerald pushed Leonidas's arm away and landed a spartan kick upon his chest, knocking him away with great force.
As Leonidas recovered upon one knee, Gerald aimed his lance toward Leonidas and began charging up energy, lightning energy streaming through the energy lines moving across his weapon. He let out a bellow as he fired a large bolt of lightning toward Leonidas, the recoil throwing his arm back with thrashing force.
"Uncle!" Effie's voice sounded in the distance, Looni's call sounding clear in the air as she rushed in front of Leonidas to protect him.
Effie quickly manifested her Chakra Butterflies, shifting her element to lightning and her butterflies each changing into ethereal yellow. Looni let out a powerful roar and began to generate lightning energy around her body, taking Gerald's Lightning Cannon with ease and absorbing the energy.
Leonidas looked up at Effie and rose to his feet, staring at her with a mix of respect and pain, the fact that she would still risk her life for him wasn't fair to him. "Effie, why are you here?"
"I'm not here alone! You take Myra to the Tree of Life and we will hold back this guy for you!" Effie said, looking back at her uncle with a determined smile and nodded at him.
"Ahh, if it isn't his protege, the Crest Bearer in Training," Gerald said, lowering his spear and turned his head to see Luciel and Fleur arriving on the scene as well. "Squad V. So, Nox knows we're after his child? It won't be long before he joins her."
"As if! If anything's going to happen, it's going to be you all being driven out of the holy lands! You all march around our campus like you own it, but that ends today!" Fleur declared, using a single butterfly to summon her signature silver revolver, Charlotte.
"We know the enemy is the Holy Resistance that masks themselves as combatants of Terminus, but you all never read the New Covenant and it shows!" Luciel added, gripping her scepter tightly with conviction.
Gerald laughed softly at the two girls and turned his head to look at the Tree of Life in the distance. "New Covenant...You know, I truly believe all that stuff in there is false. At least parts of it. Shiro Moji, Ryder Dawn, St. Kieran, all reached Heaven...and yet the other Mojisola do not? What makes them special?"
"Your God plays favorites and it shows! I thought the Nexus was supposed to save all nations under one name, one Kingdom...but He picks and chooses?" Gerald questioned, turning his gaze toward the girls once more.
"Many will come before God proclaiming, 'Lord, Lord, have I not done good works in your name? Have I not prophesized by your Will?', but you know deep down...you're not doing good works. You're a Herisee, someone who's of the teachings of the Heseclaties!" Luciel shouted, her Holy Fire emitting powerfully from her chest.
"Heseclaties..?" Gerald asked, his eye twitching with annoyance. "You think we're teaching one is only saved through Blood Sacrifice and Ritual?"
"The Holy Resistance has always had a Ragnalistic View on what it means to be saved. A view point that was never taught by Yuvah, nor Genesis... Ragnarok's teaching is justice and repentance which you even corrupt!" Luciel answered, taking a brave step forward and pointed her specter at Gerald.
"We are saved through the blood of Yesha, who died for our sins, the blood of Yesha which covers us is what saves us! You say you can lose your salvation, but the truth says you can't! The Holy Spirit is a free gift that doesn't need a price to be received!" Luciel finished, her Holy Energy flashing iridescent hues for a split second.
Gerald began walking forward with lightning crackling at his feet, every step releasing a small shockwave of energy, his eyes flashing with defiance as he locked onto Luciel and appeared in front of her with a thrust of his lance. Luciel gasped, her body barely moving out of the way of Gerald's attack with a dive.
The battle now commenced between Gerald and Squad V, Leonidas taking Myra's hand and making a run toward the Tree of Life. Fleur ran around Gerald's blindside and fired a volley of bullets at him, but he quickly deflected each bullet and aimed his spear toward Fleur.
"Not so fast, Dragon Charge!" Effie roared, bolting forward with Looni and landing a draconic strike upon his midsection that launched him backwards.
Looni flew forward with a tail swipe, her attack being blocked by Gerald's shield then she quickly maneuvered around his thrust to land a powerful claw swipe. She pinned him down onto the ground, charging up a powerful blast from her mouth, fiery energy gathering into a massive orb.
Before Looni could releasing her blast, an elven hand rushed forward and grabbed the orb, pressing it against Looni's mouth and caused it to explode inside. Looni howled in pain as she flew backwards, her body crashing into the cafe behind her.
Gerald sat up slowly, watching as two Love Demons came to his aid: Regina and Mua. He stood up on his feet, dusting himself off and scoffing. "Being saved by some devils. How ironic..."
Mua swayed her tail with a smirk, licking her lips and locking onto Effie, noticing a Crest glowing upon her hand. "We are to stop the woman and the Dean of V.J.I from reaching the Tree of Life...but I think we can stick around to play for a bit."
Regina's elven ears wiggled as she looked at the three girls, her Ambition Aura flaring around her body with devilish excitement. "Let us see if you truly walk with God!"
Mua dashed toward Effie with a thrust of her tail as a distraction, but Effie evaded her tail strike only to run into Mua's disorienting right hook. Effie stumbled backwards with her guard high, grunting as she defended against the onslaught of attacks.
Fleur rushed to Effie's aid, but Regina quickly intercepted her and knocked her backwards with a Repel spell, following it with a warping roundhouse kick. Fleur substituted herself with a Butterfly Clone, evading Regina's attack and adjusted the lens of her sunglasses.
"You think you're the only clever ones huh? Let me show you why they call me the General of Squad V!" Fleur bellowed, the Libra Sigil faintly glowing upon the lens of her glasses and her eyes began to shift into a bright silver.
Each of her butterflies began to glow brightly and dissolve into Zodiac Energy, their energy coming together into one form behind Fleur, the radiant form of light taking shape into an Avatar. The Avatar had blindfolds overs her eyes, in her left hand were scales and her right was the Sword of Justice.
Regina grunted softly as she felt a surge in Fleur's energy levels, goosebumps beginning to form in her arms and her legs making her take a step back. As she looked at Fleur, she began to see more than a maid...but a Princess.
Gerald grunted heavily in realization of who was standing behind Fleur, a Dominion Level Angel, the Zodiac Champion, Nina Dvoriya: The Judging Winds. His body shivered with goosebumps, his eyes slowly drifting back toward Fleur. "You're...the Missing Princess of the Libra Kingdom..."