"What... Key?"
Snarling at the inquiry, the false persona that the Aether identified as, Abaddon Kuno, had tightened his fists digging his claw-like nails into his flesh palms. You could call it skin, but, with the form he took underneath, it would be wrong to assume he was 'human.' The Emperor's Requiem's white aura resonated through his soul, breathing controlled, the Child of God visibly attempted to mimic his nephew's technique. He had heard tales of Requiems like him, though, he'd never faced one like this... growling with that purple aura extending down his forearm, the tips of Kuno's fingers threw a crackle of lightning. The elemental bolt bounced from the concrete cracked debris ground, pieces dividing from the chaotic stream to follow Rivera pushing himself from the floor. The way he flew around, warping through space at lightspeed with a white afterimage following his rear, was somehow graceful. Profoundly beautiful, if you will,
"STOP MOVING, YOU CONTINUAL MORTAL PEST!!!!"
The lightning, combined with the thunder that roared in the clouds creating an almost white shadow through the greyness transparency. Kuno had enough of this infantile game of charades, that was until a sharp palm was driven through his chest and an almost white liquid twinkling with the radiation of a star pounced from his artificial ribcage. The reaction to the Scientist's attempt to rise from his fixed position Ben had locked him in was beyond his capabilities, though it was nothing the Aether couldn't counter. Tilting his head to see what new blow he'd throw, the dust evaporated from the sight of impact, and the Author's Child laid a mighty headbutt to the center of his Requiem nephew's nose. CRACCK!
"Ngh! Shit..."
A quick follow up was a simple powerful right hook to the gut, sending him flying through a gateway sliced through space, dropping them off at a construction site in Manhattan. The building was tall, the workers were frightened to see the CEO suddenly tumble from a portal like that, with the Demiurge following tearing off pieces of manufactured skin. Filled with 'Dark Determination', the Emperor rolled and used his hands to push himself from the concrete floor, narrowly dodging a slash of claws that sliced the platform in four long paths. Skidding his feet back so he slid back for a moment, reaching the edge of the in-progress skyscraper, Ben put his fists. Hand-to-hand, simply without powers, it seemed easy enough.
SWIPE! Simply going for a swipe at the head, left hand originating to cut off his features, Rivera simply ducked. Pushing his feet into the center of Demiurge's gut, fluids dripping from the charge. Raising from the form he was affixed into, the Emperor swept at the feet of his opponent, a branch destroying the ground underneath to throw It into the air. Soaring through the clouds, attempting to regain his footing as the wood tore itself from the ribs of the Deity, it was punched by a series of quickened fists. All made of fire, that, as they met the sides of his face and figure, burnt through whatever sort of 'flesh' protected this species of 'Angel'. Cauterizing the wounds, however leaving a burning sensation that sent flames through the bones and organs of this creature. Just as It was about to crash through the to be made structure, It would be able to catch the sight of his nephew in front of Its white eyes, whose lids had shut over his white orbs, a glimmer of hope igniting in the Aether's pupils for just a moment, before realizing the phrase he'd been whispering,
"Peace of Mind. Time Punch: Requiem Virus. Go,"
The very supernatural phenomenon that occurred before Demiurge could hit the ground floor beneath the building was a spirit taken form, an astral projection sliding out from the Emperor's very anatomy. He held no sense of emotion on his face, his eyes closed, the laid-back position this guy had-! It was opposite to the rage the spirit exhilarated from its very being, though its fist seemed transparent- the sensation that Abaddon Kuno went through was entirely real. It had the same appearance as its user, though all skin color was removed with a blue tint and long hair that swayed off to both sides. The beard was thicker... it reminded It of his brother.
TIK TIK TOK TOKKKK! The warping of the fist inching closer and closer repeated before it shattered its rival's skull in twain, a crack appearing through Its skin as It was launched backward. The so-called 'Time Punch' sent the Aether backward through time, to experience multiple tragedies that happened throughout history. It was burnt to a skeletal shape as the meteor collided with the Earth and ended the Dinosaurs during the Cretaceous Period, was slashed to bits as a replacement for Miyamoto Musashi's opponents, and finally, a piece of history from another world experienced a nuclear blast belonging to the Tsar Bomba that detonated beneath the Kingdom's Castle.
The final travel through time sent the Aether back to the present in this World, the shadow of the Emperor towering over the Demiurge as It panted heavily. Returning from his charred skeletons and regaining flesh piece by piece, Rivera stepped forward with his hands in the pouches of his suit. ~The power of a Requiem...~ It thought to Itself, remembering the task The Author gave It all those years before this meeting, was the promise of 'True Happiness' for Humanity truly worth it?
"Spread,"
SQUELCH-BURST! As stated earlier, Ben had infused a virus through the organs of his opponent with a punch from his spirit form, which destroyed It from the inside out. Luckily, as he knew Kuno's body would be destroyed as It was thrown through spaces of time, he knew only the skeleton would remain. And just that, all the bones and organs that were gradually coming together piece by piece exploded in a ball of blood and guts. Drips of hate oozed from the look he gave the pile of bones scattered on the roof, Rivera had no care for such pathetic creatures that dared to call themselves 'deities' and fell to a mere human. It was... useless.
"Rise and shine, you useless piece of trash,"
Calmly demanded of the Crow, illuminated by the dark blue radiance of the night sky. A softened kick to the shins was an easy way to awaken his captive victim, to which the Reaper followed the command, coughing up blood onto the grass he was tied to. Kneeling to cut them up so they could do whatever the captor had planned, a question August had on his mind as of late came out,
"Who are..." He coughed in the middle, once more, blood spewed on account of his wounds. Unable to heal them as he attempted to cut the chains he was tied, the light tendril of heated plasma swirling out of his skin then fading away to darkness, he asked once more, breathing to calm himself, "Who are you..?"
Stepping back for a moment, the Crow thought of the answer, this was his chance. This was his moment to do what he'd dreamed of for so long, and he wouldn't waste it for August to fight a masked assassin he had. Distorted voice fading to normality as the Mercenary spoke, pained vocal cords shifting as steam emitted from the rear of the cowl,
"You really have no idea... do you, Rivera?"
Widening his eyes, the true identity of the Crow was revealed with a simple opening of a helmet, the hand that took it off pushing back the hood that concealed his dark hair. Red eyes combined with the crimson aura set the stage for a horrifying realization.
It was Azazel Karlo, terrorizing them, the one who killed Iana and her parents, it was all the Ace Detective Prince of Justice who slaughtered them all. Who threatened his other self, and murdered him without a second thought, Karlo stared into the circular-shaped eyes of the plague mask, snapping his head to gaze into the eyes of his rival, a pink cherry blossom obscuring the vision of the Reaper for but a moment. This couldn't be real...! How could he... the one person he trusted the most throughout this whole journey- had betrayed him without a second thought,
"I'm sure this is a surprise for you, but for me, the clues had been there all this time. Do you believe it was a mere coincidence I wore the same trench coat as the Crow in the picture Mr. Rivera obtained? Or maybe the fact I was able to make my eyes glow a certain shade of red that resembled the Crow's when we fought? Not to mention Celine Pierce has been following you this whole trip, and I've looked at her several times... were you so pathetic and blind you were unable to notice such a simple thing?"
He couldn't believe what he was hearing, not only could he see Celine- but he was THE CROW. The very same person who framed and destroyed any piece of his reputation to the public should he leave high school... but there was another question that arose in the depths of his mind from the answer of Azazel's other personality,
"Why...?"
Remembering it hurt his very soul, a disheartened heavy breath of air emerging from the lungs of Karlo and entering the chilly Japanese air. However, he did owe him an explanation, it seemed only right- after all, he did kidnap him, in the end. So, he began to recite the beginning of this whole ordeal,
"My mother was desperate, I told you. Desperate for anything to aid her son, no matter what it was, ashamed that my father had just up and abandoned me as her family had done to herself. She wanted to do something right and in the end... she damned me for all eternity, in the process. I didn't leave for Paris, I couldn't... I was groomed to be the perfect weapon, to be the ultimate assassin for THEM. Assigned by Kuno to slaughter whoever inconvenienced him and his little orchestration, that included Iana. I hated it, truly- but there was nothing I could ever do about such an unfortunate circumstance. At a young age, I was injected with a serum that would disrupt my psychosis... but none of this explains... my personal capturing of you, does it?"
Shaking his head, August prepared himself for the following words that Azazel would have spewed out of his mouth in the coming seconds. Seeing him through blurry vision squeeze his fist, the leather of the glove pushing itself together as his clothed fingers entered his fleshy palm. Shedding himself of the trench coat he wore so it'd gently float to the grass he was standing on, the fingertips of the gauntlets he wore drew mechanical claws that popped out. Whirring as he tilted his hand to the right, Karlo's head snapped to meet the gaze of Death... this time, it was so different from the one Rivera had been shown throughout this short roundabout journey,
"From the very first second- the day, I'd heard of Augustus Rivera, I'd hate you with all of my heart. The idea that someone like you could be gifted so many things... without worry. Without hardship, going through anything, instead, you have gifted everything on a silver platter. Because you had money and because you were 'attractive', you were desired more by the population. You were loved... more. People cherished the Rivera family more than anything when they're all spoiled brats who've never had to go through anything a day in their lives. I HAD TO WORK, FOR FUCK'S SAKE! I HAD TO WORK MY GODDAMN ASS OFF TO GET TO WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW!!! But... even then, I could never compare to someone like you. How you're able to so easily make your anguish into determination to face your unfortunate circumstances... and the way I was unable to. However, something... happened. Though I'd hated you with every fiber of my body, my soul- I felt so free the very first second I talked to you. How you were able to shake my hand, to talk about free will. I gave you hints. And you never... you never even thought to check up on me. That was when I realized- we could never truly be friends,"
How could he be so selfish..? Blind to everything he was facing, everything he was forced to do across the years he was the Crow, the blood on his hands- when all he wanted was justice for his mother. That was when her see-through figure emerged from the Reaper's rear, and slowly, her legs faded into obscurity as she touched the face of the Justice. A lone tear had streamed from his left eye and at that moment, he realized... Celine, she was so much more than just a girl to him. He was wrong, he had gone through hardship. But, did that ever change anything? Did it mean anything? He didn't bring Augustus here so they could exchange sob stories, no. Biting his lip, the blood drawn from the force was wiped away by his knuckles,
"But, I didn't come here for this. I didn't bring you here so I could have you sympathize with me, Rivera. I want you to aid me in taking down Kuno- he wronged us both. Beat me in a fight, and we can kill that disgusting excuse of a human together,"
The cutting of metal was too fast for the Rivera to comprehend, no blood was drawn from the swift movement. Pushing himself back from the near stance he took, the Justice shed himself of his trench coat so he'd only be wearing his turtleneck. As life energy coursed through his veins, August's energy was rejuvenated, and his bones snapped back into place. Their hairs, black and white, swaying the breeze that sent chills down their spines collectively, eyes staring down one another down. Movements in sync, they moved collectively for their first attacks to collide, sparks created from metal colliding with metal entering the atmosphere. The tip of the Reaper's darkened tendril had been reinforced, veins popping out through the forehead of the boy, the claws of the Crow pushing into the fleshy of the slimy weapon. Face to face with his destiny, August's pale hair hovered as his eyes lit up, fueled by one SINGLE thing: 'DARK DETERMINATION,'
"THERE'S NO WAY I'LL LOSE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE EVER AGAIN! ONLY I HAVE TO POWER TO END THIS, HERE AND NOW!! I WON'T LET YOU STOP ME!!!!!!!"
Slice! The tip of another tendril created a cut, blood squishing out from the knee of his black-haired attacker, making him lose his balance momentarily. Sliding to the right so Azazel would fall forward, the flat palm of Death pushed against his chest, Karlo was thrown several meters in front of him. Tumbling against the grass, dirt flying onto his all-black attire, Karlo quickly stood up for spears to slide out of his wrists at his opponent. Diving his knuckles to the floor, roots extended out, their tips sharp as nails as they dove right at he who represented Justice. These individual projectiles were thrown at the battling duo, August quickly sliced the spears out of the air, before having one wrap around his wrist as Azazel simply tilted his head to the side to weave out of the way of the elongated wide splinters. Tightening his grip on the spear that had emerged from his flesh, Karlo scowled as the sharpened tip had deviated from its exact location around his rival's wrist.
What he saw was that Rivera had thrown himself into the air, stomping on the metal of the spear, performing a handstand on it as he stuck out his right foot so a tendril would snap around the Crow's cervix. Gasping for air, regurgitating blood from the complexity of his interior, Azazel was pulled by the tendril forward, then a quick twist of his foot had pushed his nose so it'd snap in two after meeting the back of his spear. Flipping back, Rivera kicked his face back so he'd stumble, now standing straight holding his bloodied nostrils.
A gentle sigh emerged from his clenched teeth, gritting them to create an unnatural disturbance in the quiet of this shy location hidden from prying eyes. Steam emerging from the sides, the Reaper stood straight and readied for another attack, what he got... was an awakening,
"SANITY, BEGONE! REALITY, BEWITCH YOURSELF FROM MY EYES... THERE IS ONLY HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAGH!!!!"
BOOM-ROAR!!! The snarling of an animal, the crawling of a spider, the roaring of a lion, they all formed to create this monster that had formed with a strike of dark lightning as it burst open a stream of crimson energy that engulfed the Crow. Shifting his mental state to an unhealthy psychotic state, panting heavily, he sliced at his face with the claws he was gifted. A blade with ruby steel was brought into existence around his fingers, tightly, he held the weapon, emerging from the flames a new man turned... psychotic. Tilting it to the side so it'd shine under the moonlight, the blossoms that flowed from the branches around them continually moved with the wind. Calm, collected, as the Detective Crow of Justice held that sadistic smirk on his face.
"Is this supposed to impress me?"
Charging out with a murderous roar, voice on the cusp of being destroyed from the rage he held within, the thrust of the blade was what followed as August matched its speed. Eyes closed, arms behind his back, Celine raised a brow in the depth of the Void and giggled like a giddy schoolgirl as she readied for what happened next. Tripping the Crow with a simple move of his leg, the Reaper kicked the blade from his hand as the Justice cackled and rose his right hand to grab the wrist of his white-haired rival. Enduring an electricity blast that shocked his entire nervous system and sent him flying back, the Crow smirked as his red aura vibrated the air around him and the skies roared with thunder.
Across space and time, The Moon watched his son, though they were fighting for all the wrong reasons, Ryder couldn't help but be proud of his son for putting up an admirable fight. Squeezing his fits, the Emperor looked out the window, the thunder roared with the spirit of a Karlo, he could see the way the World shook as the duo battled on Earth somewhere. The two fathers closed their green and blue eyes and spoke to the other hopefully telepathically,
"Win... for the World you fight for,"
CRACK, CRACK, SNAPP! A barrage of blows shattered bones through the chest of the Black Reaper, blood spewing from his nostrils and mouth as his eyes opened to see the very face of his Justice rival. Thrusting his right limb attached to his cracked ribs, a tendril enveloped itself on the trunk of a tree nearby. Nearly escaping Karlo's bloodlust-filled charges, but the speed he was moving on was created entirely by soundwaves he blasted to his rear with one hand on the handle of the katana,
"RUNNING IS USELESS, RIVERA!! THE WORLD-!!"
Gasping, his eyes both widened, the whereabouts of his rival was unknown, there... was no way time had stopped. Not without him seeing, of course, but, as time wound to a halt, and his palm halted projecting propelling soundwaves from its interior. That was when he realized something- staring at the stars as they glistened with the moonlight, The World around him had returned to normal. Eyes open wide engulfed by a white glow followed by a white aura, the words of his father echoed in his mind. Readying the tip of his blade so it'd push through his skull and destroy his brain, witnessing the descent of the Reaper of Death, a hand pushed it to the side as it destroyed the invisible air. Fist pushing the steel to the left, a disgusted look brought itself to form over his features. Whispering as he radiated with a Requiem Aura,
"Peace of Mind. Surge of Tranquility. Requiem Destruction,"
The dust settled moments later, the sound resonating from the blow through the world pushed the trees to flatten onto the grass. The skeleton of Azazel Karlo had been shattered completely, his bones creaking as he attempted to move while he remained unconscious. A crater formed by the blow destroyed everything in a 100-meter radius like the heat had burnt everything as if a nuclear bomb had detonated around this location. Breaths ragged, heartbeat irregular, the fog of particles parted to reveal the Reaper hunched over the body of his rival, momentarily turning back... you would see the birth. Of the Requiem Reaper.
A breath of relief pushed its way through the Emperor's organs to exit through his muzzle, the eyelid concealing his right orb of sight to see his older sister. As always, even while he was a 'Requiem', the Empress' healing capabilities were far more advanced than his own, usual violet air that circled her soul had transformed to the shade of an emerald grass palette. Referencing the tranquility of her power, Madi reeled back,
"There ya go, idiot. Don't go hurtin' yourself again cuz I won't be here again..."
A stern nod was sent her way, pained groans of a tired consciousness entered the air, as the teenage girl with brown hair and pink streaks began to rise from her laid-back position. She had been found at the entrance of the Casino by her father and had been fully healed, but that didn't change anything. Her mother who sat beside her kneeled to the right of her baby girl, tightly squeezed her hand, and gave out a breath of relief. She had faith in her husband, but it felt like she'd never come back- that piercing feeling that she felt, believing she'd lose another person she cared about again... it hurt her very soul.
"You're okay..."
"I promised I'd take care of them, didn't I?"
Ceci turned back upon hearing her husband's words promise that echoed through her brain, the feeling of fingers gently sliding across her collar. A peck of love appeared against her skin, a gentle admired grin shifted to a happy nod and the woman slid back so the Emperor could take Lane's place. Beginning to part his lips for a brief second, Genesis began to inform her elder of the events that happened to unfold hours ago,
"I wasn't... he protected me... he put his trust in me, even after everything. But, I wasn't strong enough to protect him- and now... my big brother's..."
The father of the Lovers let a disheartened sigh leap out his mouth, the kicking down of an entrance door entering their ears as two boys were dropped onto the floor writhing in pain. Jason and Ella both kneeled to check their pulses, both gasping in relief as Artemis nodded to her Creator, informing Rivera,
"Your instinct was correct, Father. They were exactly where you thought they were... but- what do we do about him?"
Everyone glared at the black-haired Detective, the attire covering his skin, the angered breaths he took, and the red sword in his hand. There was no doubt about it, the Crow was Azazel Karlo. That revelation, however, meant nothing to Ben or Ella. Instead, they interlocked hands and whispered prayers as Madi joined them, though they didn't know the truth of his intentions when he assumed the persona of the Assassin, they would support him. He was apart of their family, no matter what he did, same as his father in the past, they would protect him. Ryder smiled amongst the Temple, as the former Justice rose his blade and pushed the handle into Karlo's stomach, he gasped for air and awoke,
"It's time for the truth,"
To BE CONTINUED!