In the Great Fire Kingdom – Training Ground,
Suddenly, Infernus grabbed his sword and stopped them, glaring at them angrily:
"Fools! If you want to fight with all your strength, go somewhere else! You have destroyed the arena!"
Rio and Azo looked around, and found the arena indeed destroyed and covered in dust.
Rio laughed nervously:
"We're sorry, Infernus, we didn't notice."
Infernus turned toward the palace, giving them his back calmly, then looked back at them with a gaze full of killing intent:
"Be careful, or you will see hell before you!"
Rio shivered and began to tremble with fear, while Azo looked at Infernus coldly, as if he feared nothing.
Infernus smiled, then left.
Azo said:
"What's wrong with that person? We were just training."
Rio replied:
"Never mind, I think I should look for Rin."
On the roof, Rin was lying down eating popcorn and waved his hand:
"I'm here!"
Rio:
"Rin! Since when have you been here?"
Rin descended confidently:
"Since the start of your fight with… (he stopped to think) what's that person's name?"
Rio:
"He's Azo."
Rin:
"Yes, since the start of your fight with him."
Rio:
"But I didn't feel you, not even Infernus felt anything."
Rin didn't care and went straight to Azo:
"Tell me, where did you come from and who are you?"
Azo answered:
"My name is Azo, 'Azo the Dimension Destroyer.' I come from the High Kingdom of Eldora!"
Rin:
"Eldora? I've never heard of that kingdom before!"
Azo:
"Eldora is a prosperous and extremely advanced kingdom. I was created there by a man. Originally, I was the weakest weapon in that kingdom, and one day I decided to leave to become stronger…"
Rio was shocked:
"What?? The weakest weapon? Created by a man? Wait… how do you have will and consciousness? And how can you be the weakest weapon while your power can destroy the entire solar system?"
Azo:
"Eldora is a prosperous civilization that existed among the clouds, a floating island hidden from view. That civilization was the literal meaning of the word 'peak of human prosperity and development.' They understood the entire universe and had it under their control. They had a near-infinite energy source, and I was created there by a man."
Rin:
"It really does seem like a prosperous civilization… So, where is this kingdom? Perhaps it was erased from history!"
Azo:
"I do not know! Many years ago, it was a bright and thriving day, like any normal day, but suddenly the sky turned dark crimson red as if bleeding, then opened like a deep wound. Behind that wound was a massive horde of burning meteors falling toward the city like heavy rain.
It did not stop there; the island itself fell from the sky toward the earth. The moment it touched the ground, not a second passed, and a great flood engulfed the entire civilization, and all its sciences and tools were hidden under the water.
At that time, I was still in the sky watching everything. 12 people stood between the sky and earth, looking at me arrogantly. Involuntarily, I moved toward them wanting to kill them, but a single strike from one of them knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I found myself falling toward the ocean."
"Since that moment, I decided to evolve, and I searched everywhere for a land whose sciences resembled mine even slightly, but I found no land like it. I searched the entire universe and found nothing like it! It was truly the peak!"
"Even when I searched the oceans of Earth for its ruins, I found nothing, as if it had been hidden in a place no one could reach. Strangely, I found some of its ruins in the sky, which I could not explain! It was destroyed on Earth, so why are parts of it in the sky?"
Azo fell to the ground and returned to his original form.
Rio, fearful:
"Azo! What happened to you? Are you okay?"
Rio:
"System, scan him!"
System:
"It seems he was tired for a period of time. He will be recharged."
Rio:
"Alright."
After a minute, Azo awoke and returned to his human form:
"What happened?"
Rin:
"Seems like your battery ran out?"
Azo:
"Ah, yes."
Rin replied coldly and left:
"...Alright."
---
After ten days, Rio began to develop much more than before, gaining many new abilities while training with Infernus.
One day, Rio and Infernus went on a hunting mission in the snowy forest. On their way back, they encountered a massive dragon, approximately 4 kilometers in size, white in color, with wings covered in blue ice crystals.
The dragon waved its foot and launched an attack toward Rio.
Rio bent and dodged. The attack destroyed the forest behind them in a magnificent display.
The dragon did not give Rio any chance to prepare an attack. As it retracted its head, a new attack came toward him.
The dragon unleashed a beam from its mouth.
Rio:
"Damn!"
He couldn't dodge the attack in time.
Suddenly, Infernus appeared and stood in front of the attack. His last sword gleamed, and slowly, calmly, Infernus drew his sword from its sheath.
In a flash, he split the attack and the dragon in half with a single swing. His attack did not only cut the dragon but also split the sky into two.
To be continued…