33: The Zero Reset, The Commander's Destruction, and Fifteen Years
In the dark and eerie mindscape stood a lone, pitch-black figure, with scarlet eyes that could pierce one's soul, and a Demon Mark that had an uncanny resemblance to Benimaru's.
The soles of his feet touched the ground with an otherworldly grace. He no longer sat atop his throne like a ruler but instead stood opposite his brother—a clear sign of the shrinking power gap.
His feet had barely touched the ground, however, when a powerful force hit the corners of his face, causing a slight gash as blood seeped from a small cut.
"Interestin—" The words had hardly left his mouth when the next action came, swift and precise.
In a lightning flash, demonic chakra swirled around Benimaru's body like wildfire as he disappeared.
The darkness of his surroundings itself shook as large gusts of wind followed him.
The heel of Benimaru struck forth, a destructive force that none could comprehend.
His older brother's arms raised in an instinctual defense to protect himself.
As the younger brother's foot clashed against him, the weight of their combined chakra shook the mindscape itself.
The lips on Benimaru's face contorted into a crazed grin, hints of anger and fury hidden in his pitch-black eyes.
He hadn't forgotten what his brother had made him do to Neji—and he likely never would.
The backside of Benimaru's other foot spun around, the sharp edges of a blade clinging to it as it aimed to kill.
With his senses kicking into overdrive, his older brother saw through the danger. His brain working at full speed to dodge, his grip on his brother's leg tightened as he tossed him away.
But Benimaru was far from done. With his mastery over the element of wind, compressed air gathered itself at the bottom of his foot—propelling him forward.
"GODSPEED!" The words barked from Benimaru's mouth. The feeling of lightning flowing through every crevice in his body was exhilarating. His speed multiplied itself many times over—greatly enhanced by the lightning.
His twin blades materialized into his grip as his dash refused to relent—every step creating shockwaves.
His elder brother met his dash with no trace of hesitation to be found as they clashed.
Metal clashing against skin became a prominent sound as the swords wielded by his mother were unable to cut down the obstacle in front of him.
His elder brother wielded nothing but the fists he had since birth—and that was enough.
Flashes of pure lightning were all that could be observed by a normal individual. While his older brother's movements were graceful and controlled—Benimaru moved like a martial artist determined to land the killing blow.
"Salt Spears," the voice of the elder brother was calm and composed as pillars of salt materialized behind him and shot forth in Benimaru's direction.
With a clear show of his acrobatics and agility, Benimaru's limbs leapt back in a backflip motion—evading the salt spears with ease.
The spears of salt lodged into the ground and dissolved into pure chakra as their essence completely disappeared.
Upon regaining his balance, Benimaru's grip on the hilt of his swords tightened as a concentrated ball of darkness materialized at the tip of his blades.
"TRILLION DARK!" The balls of darkness flew forward at tremendous speeds, quickly multiplying until their numbers reached the hundreds.
"CRYSTALLIZED SALT STORM!" Miniature blades comprised of nothing but salt phased through the air in a flash. As they penetrated the balls of darkness, they exploded on impact, eliciting a huge explosion.
The appearance of both brothers at the center of it all was magnificent. Their bodies suspended themselves in the air as thoughts rushed through their heads.
Sharing a body, sharing organs, and sharing a brain. They could hear the thoughts of the other clearly.
'Who are you really?' The voice of Benimaru rang through both brothers' minds. His tone had changed, less angered and more controlled—he wanted answers.
'I am the being who was meant to exist instead of you. But since you want answers, I shall give you. My name is Dareth.'
As the scene flowed like the interruption had never happened, the fists of both brothers were cocked and ready to strike.
"DARETHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"BENIMARUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
The blows of both brothers struck clean, a punch to the face which was sure to knock the other out—and that it did.
'As much as I may hate to admit it, little brother—you were strong. So I'll give you something to help you in your journey.'...
With his eyes slowly opening once more, and his pupils hastily adjusting to the sunlight, the boy Benimaru sat up quickly—feet rushing to hit the ground.
In front of him was Meliodas, who gazed down at him with an examining expression for a second.
"You were out for quite a while there. What happened?" asked Meliodas, but then he felt it. The instincts he had honed for decades never failed him—and they were screaming right now.
Benimaru had been unconscious for less than a day, but…
His chakra capacity had risen almost ten times in sheer volume. Due to being the descendant of the Demon King, he naturally had more chakra.
But now? He had more than Meliodas in sheer quantity.
"Hey, kid," the Commandment leader's voice was cautious now. "Try doing the Zero Reset again. I want to test something."
The boy's head shook slightly to confirm as he began the process.
Just like normal, his human chakra flowed into his body—using his dual lungs as its containment unit.
While his more volatile and demonic chakra flowed in a more erratic manner, it entered his heart with a random pattern, but still without any visible mistakes.
Within seconds, the skin of our protagonist began turning pale; his body appeared skinnier and more slender as his aura disappeared completely—the previous blockage becoming nonexistent.
A low whistle escaped the mouth of his master.
"Looks like you finally got it," praised Meliodas.
"Yeah," the boy's arms raised in an X motion as he tried to summon his chakra. He didn't know why, but something told him he should.
His chakra, instead of gathering at his fist where he wanted it to—began to infuse itself with its surroundings.
Trickles of white substance began to trail down the air as the chakra coating Benimaru continued to grow.
Meliodas simply watched the scene unfold; curiosity brewed inside his stomach as he wondered what his little grand-nephew was up to.
'This boy's control over his chakra is ridiculous. He has already surpassed everyone in the Demon Realm in that regard—except for Zeldris, of course.'
Once the sight of the crystallized materialization reached the boy's eyes, they widened in an otherworldly shock.
"This is—"
'This is my technique which I have bestowed upon you. The power to manipulate the salt which I have bent to my will. Once you master this power, we shall fight once more—our battle will be legendary.'
The voice resonated in the boy's head, and in an instant, the connection was gone. Instead of feeling fear, the lips on his mouth slid upward—grinning with delight. If this power would help him grow stronger...
Then he would accept it with open arms.
...
"Another being in your head, you say?" The sword in Meliodas's hand, Lostvayne, was raised above his head, blocking a blow from Benimaru who had leapt into the air to strike him from above. "That's rather intriguing. Do you have any more information on him?"
The blade of Meliodas pushed forward, which sent Benimaru a few meters away.
"He said he was the being who was meant to exist instead of me." The toes of the boy scrunched under their own weight—gripping the floor tightly as he sprung forth, dual blades in each hand.
"That's an interesting idea, and I think I have the answer to it." The blade gripped in his master's fingers matched his speed and power blow for blow without relent. To an outside observer, they were evenly matched.
But to both of them, it was clear—Meliodas had the upper hand. Even with his increased chakra, he still couldn't match the pure destructive energy of his master—he was, however, getting close.
"I think that's enough. Let's take a break." Meliodas's hand tapped a seat beside him, a slight but obvious signal to his student to sit—which he did.
"I have a theory," said Meliodas as his palm extended to grab a stick which he used to draw a person in the sand. "This is you." The stick in his hand tapped the drawing as he proceeded to make a line through the center.
"This is you and the other figure. Two people sharing a body is something that shouldn't exist. Two souls, one container. It's impossible—impractical," explained Meliodas, to which Benimaru nodded in understanding.
"You were lucky to have inherited a majority of your split soul and the entire portion of the body, which is likely why he appears as a pitch-black silhouette instead of an actual person." His master attempted to give his possible theory, slashing the person with the stick to make a 70:30 ratio.
"This is an estimate of how much control you have over yourself. You possess 70 and he possesses 30. He lacks a body and likely feels like a prisoner in yours." The words leaving his mouth held a matter-of-fact tone, and Benimaru could do nothing but listen quietly.
"The most likely way for him to be free is for you to die, allowing him to gain full control over you," finished Meliodas as he destroyed the drawing completely.
"What a pitiful existence that is. To lack a body and to have such a weak and powerless soul—I somewhat pity him." Meliodas's words held a sorrowful tone as his facial expression contorted in pity, and even Benimaru felt a rush of empathy in him, but Meliodas's expression quickly changed to that of a strict teacher.
"However, I will not allow you to die no matter the circumstances. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master."
"Good. Let's continue training."
...
Over the course of the next few weeks, Benimaru was subjected to constant swordsmanship lessons by Meliodas himself—demonic power prohibited from use.
After only a month's worth of time, he had mastered every sword technique in the Demon Realm. And after two months, he could clash evenly with Meliodas in pure swordsmanship.
Once the four-month mark had been reached, his swordsmanship had attained a level surpassing even that of his master. He had risen to become the strongest sword user in the realm—second only to Demon King Zeldris, of course.
At his master's request, Benimaru's swords, the ones previously owned by his mother, were to be smelted down and reforged.
Although the boy initially refused to have his mother's mementos destroyed, the argument Meliodas brought up could not be refused as he lacked a rebuttal.
"A Sacred Treasure can only be wielded by one whose soul is bonded with it. No matter how hard you try, that soul will never truly be yours." With a stone-cold expression on his face, Meliodas's fingers gripped the swords he had taken.
"My goal is to make you as strong as possible. No matter the cost." The serious expression faded away in an instant as the lips on his face curled into a smile. "The sword won't be destroyed; its materials will simply be used to make your own Sacred Treasure."
With that in mind, Benimaru stopped arguing and simply accepted it, continuing his training even without his blades.
Only two months were left in their first year of training, and the last thing that was left for him…was magic.
Despite the prodigious nature which had followed Benimaru all his life, his incompetence for magic was exceptional—almost terrifying.
Even after three full weeks, he was unable to even sense the mana which lay dormant inside his soul.
Even Meliodas questioned this, but there was nothing either of them could do. At the end of the day, there was only one answer…
Benimaru had no such talent for the arts of the mage.
....
The limbs of Benimaru remained in a cross position as his body sat firmly against a stone which lay beneath a waterfall.
As his shirt was a few meters away from him, the top portion of his body was exposed to both the wind and the cold water that rushed on top of him.
The perfectly sculpted muscles on his arms and back looked to be a heavenly sight; the abs on his chest were godly in appearance—seeming to shine under the weight of the sun. The six-pack physique, which was nearly impossible for others of his age to achieve—was comfortably possessed by him.
The water from the waterfall hitting his head and flowing down the contours of his back held a chilling experience as his chakra interacted with the water—one of the techniques to improve his control over the element.
The teachings of Meliodas had mostly reached their end as he had been taught almost everything he needed. This granted him a lot of free time which he used to meditate.
This, therefore, improved not only his spiritual connection—but also his overall manipulation of his chakra as he felt every minute movement of the energy through his pathways.
Throughout this week of non-stop meditation, neither food nor water had touched the corners of his lips, as he had taken sustenance in the particles of chakra which could be found in the air—mimicking the life of a monk.
With his newfound attunement to chakra, he had begun noticing something. Within the micro-particles of chakra which existed all around us, existed something else, something smaller, denser—more powerful.
A type of chakra which he had never seen before, or even interacted with.
The boy's brow furrowed slightly as a singular bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face—all the while his eyes kept shut.
With his control over his chakra being as exemplary as it was, the chakra particles began attracting themselves into Benimaru's body—at his command, of course.
As the first wave of miniature pieces invaded his system, a sudden shock exploded throughout every crevice of his body.
The boy's eyes snapped open slowly as a feeling of hardening overtook his left arm.
His head turned slightly as his gaze glanced over the stone which was slowly spreading through his body and had coated his fist.
SLICE
If hesitation could be quantified, then Benimaru's would be in the negatives.
His right hand came down onto his left like heavenly judgment—tearing through bones and blood vessels as it separated cleanly.
With the blood beginning to seep out of the stump, the expression on the boy's face was still that of calm nonchalance—like he was talking about the weather.
Darkness gathered at the tip of the lost stump of a hand. In less than a second, the hand was regrown like it was never gone.
"Looks like I failed again," the mutter escaped the lips of our protagonist as a sigh left his mouth.
Before his legs could even touch the ground to stand up, the view of a rock rapidly approaching his face was very prominent. It had the speed and power to one-shot almost any demon—but not this one.
With barely a glance at the incoming danger, the tiniest bit of wind chakra concentrated itself in his lung and propelled through his throat and out Benimaru's mouth.
It rocketed forward like a laser as it pierced through the rock without any meaningful resistance and struck the trees in front of him—destroying them instantly.
A silhouette of a woman jumped from the decimated trees as she dashed forward at breakneck speeds—uprooting the remaining trees behind her and cratering the ground beneath her foot.
Her fingers clenched into a fist as it lunged forward to strike against Benimaru's face. The latter, however, simply stood still without dodging—letting her attack reach him.
But at the very last second, the right palm of Benimaru lifted itself as two fingers were raised. Her attack, which could shatter mountains if needed—had been blocked by two fingers.
The residual force which proceeded from the punch caused a large gust of air to rise upwards as it crippled the ground under their feet.
The unfamiliar woman held an excited grin in her eyes which was responded with a look of pure boredom. Benimaru usually liked fighting people, but she was just too weak.
'I might as well have some fun,' he thought, a hint of a smirk adorning his lips.
With his enhanced strength, his palm gripped her fist as her entire body was pulled forward by a force she couldn't repel.
The knee of Benimaru flew towards her abdomen as it struck cleanly against her, causing an involuntary gag reflex as she gasped for air.
As his grip on her loosened ever so slightly, the same foot flew out wildly and slammed her body into the ground—dazing her and causing a minor dust cloud.
"GET OFF ME!" Derieri shouted from beneath Benimaru's grip, who simply yawned in response.
"Give it up, Derieri, you can't win against him," the voice of another man broke the silence as he walked through the destroyed forest.
Derieri was an orange-haired woman who had a rather unorthodox manner of dressing, or rather—the only unorthodox thing was that she didn't dress at all.
Clad in nothing but the darkness she controlled, which held cover over her more private areas, the woman known as Derieri felt no need for clothes—feeling that they restricted her ability in combat.
This debacle had caused an outrage among demons, but also aided in her strength in a way. Given that she is the Commandment of Purity, anyone who lusts after her or anyone else in her presence gets a debuff which lowers their combat strength.
So her appearance and use of her body aids in that endeavor to entrance the eye.
Monspeet was a man of few words, clad in his signature white cape. He wore thick green jeans which served as an undergarment to the golden metal leggings he adorned over them.
Monspeet was the Commandment of Reticence, which prevented the outward expression of emotions. Any who expressed said emotions would have their voices blocked—rendered speechless for the rest of their lives.
Our protagonist encountered the duo a few days ago, in which he was challenged to a battle by Derieri—in which he promptly destroyed her.
Ever since, she has been returning every day to battle against him—it was getting tedious.
However, this was the first time Monspeet had shown himself as he usually preferred to stay hidden to watch over Derieri.
"This is a surprise, Monspeet. I didn't think you'd show yourself," said Benimaru, slightly surprised.
"Well, when such an important event is happening in merely two days, I had to come see you." Monspeet fiddled with his mustache and avoided eye contact. His statement caused confusion to rise in Benimaru's stomach.
"Huh? What event?"
"Your birthday."
CHAPTER END
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