Raijin wore a scowl as he stood across from Akuro, thin bolts of lightning zipping around his body.
Akuro took a step forward, his Aura Cloak darkening and becoming more solidified as it took a more defined shape. His eyes turned crimson and his pupils became thin white slits while obsidian scales grew over his skin and large black horns grew from his head. His aura grew outward in chaotic wisps of shadow around his body, giving an illusion of black wings wings growing from his back.
"Enough talk." He said, his tone cold like blades of ice cutting through the air. "Get ready old man… 'cuz here I come."
Akuro hunched over, his hands on the ground as if he were about to pounce like a wild beast, and then the ground below him erupted, the stone shattering into small pebbles as cracks were etched into the ground when he kicked off, launching himself at Raijin.
As Akuro drew close, Raijin raised his hand, a wall of gold light blocking Akuro, who collided into it feet first before he spun himself in the air, black talons of aura swinging towards Raijinin from the side, forcing him to block it, but as he did it left him open on the opposite side. Akuro leapt at this opening, twisting his body and spinning his leg around so his heel crashed into Raijin's skull, violently knocking his body down to the side, somersaulting across the ground.
Raijin managed to regain his footing, skidding to a stop, but as he did, Akuro held both hands above his head, aura being pulled into his hands and condensing down to a point. Raijin knew this attack, it was Akuro's Dark Implosion, and he just had to gain distance to avoid it.
The Thunder god began to backpedal away from Akuro as fast as he could. Akuro grinned as he did this, then his hands grasped around the aura he'd gathered and a large black sword took shape in his hands that he then swung through the air, its density and pressure so intense that the swing practically moved in slow motion.
Raijin leapt upwards, avoiding the wave of energy that was released from the attack, and when the wave of aura struck the ground and the far wall, that entire side of the chasm was split, a massive crack being engraved into the cave, causing the entire are to quake as rocks fell from the ceiling.
As he looked down at the massive crevice in the cavern, Raijin couldn't help but be impressed by Akuro's growth in power. It was unbelievable how fast he'd come to power, and now he was having to kill his own creation. Ironic.
Raijin raised his hand, rearing the spear back, a bright blue light emitting from the blade. Then he twisted his whole body, launching the spear forward, a shockwave being blasted through the air from the force of the throw as the spear streaked through the air like a fallen star. Akuro leapt back, the spear making impact with the ground where he was, the entire surrounding area erupting in blue electricity, rocks and boulders were torn from the earth and sent up into the air around the spear as it burrowed itself into the ground.
Raijin then flashed into sight behind Akuro, his palm hitting against Akuro's back, gold lightning swallowing his body before he was sent rolling across the ground and crashing into the wall.
"You don't seem to understand." Raijin spoke as he walked towards the Infinite Arashi.
"Get what?" Akuro growled as he got to his feet, spitting blood from his mouth.
"The gods have lived for millions of years. We know more than you could ever know in ten lifetimes." The god said, his hand grasping the spear, electricity starving between the handle and his fingers as he did. "Do you honestly think you could kill all of us? And even if you did, what would happen after?"
"If the gods disappeared the world and our fates would be in our own hands." Akuro answered. "We would actually have control over our own lives."
"Except that you already do." Raijin said. "When we tossed you weaklings down into the mid realm, we left your future in your own hands. Even when we created the Deities, we told you humanities fate was up you. Yet you act like we enslave you."
"In our hands?" Akuro spat, "You call reviving us and manipulating us to kill our own kind free will?"
"Manipulating? What are you talking about, boy? We had no part in any negative choices you made. Humans are naturally drawn towards conflict, it's in your nature. We never did anything wrong, so why do you want our end?"
"Because…" Akuro hissed, "you toss us down here and expect us to know what to do, you let us suffer, yet you never do anything about it, you only laugh and say 'oh well' because in the end you want us to die."
"So are you saying you want us to take control? Because the only way to stop violence and suffering is to control the humans, after all the suffering is self caused, is it not? Humans suffer by their own hands, or the hands of their own kind. Tell me I'm wrong."
Akuro grit his teeth, his memory going back to his father. In the end, that was his father who killed Hope… not the Gods… but even so, he knew how corrupt they were. They create and don't nurture their creations.
"You abandoned your creations." Akuro said. "Instead of guiding us like parents, as you should've as the gods who made us, you left us to rot in conflict and self destruction."
"Again, that's your own actions. We had no part in your pain." Raijin spoke, waving his hand as four bolts of lightning rushed at Akuro, who knocked them aside with his own aura.
"But you still deceive, you toy with us, our lives are little more than a show that you all sit and watch for entertainment."
"So? We created you, we have the right." Raijin said. "Again, your purpose was to serve us. That's the whole point of your creation, to pray to us and worship us."
"You really expect mankind to worship gods who abandoned them?"
"It's the whole reason we made you."
"Fuck you." Akuro growled.
Raijin grunted. "Come then! If you hate me so much, then kill me!"
A black scythe materialized in Akuro's hand, then he held out his other hand, and from it a wave of black aura took the shape of a dragon's head, rushing at Raijin, it's jaws opened wide to swallow the Thunder God, and as it charged Akuro ran behind it.
Raijin swung his spear, the blade piercing the head of the dragon, the two auras churning violently. Akuro dashed at Raijin from the opposite side, his scythe whistling towards Raijin, but suddenly he felt an immense pressure won his body, forcing his movements to stop. He grit his teeth, pushing back against the unseen force. He attempted to absorb the pressure, but it wasn't aura, so then what was it.
The ground cracked at Akuro's feet as the pressure pushed him down. Akuro looked at the old man's hand and saw a light yellow field emitting from his palm. That was it. A magnetic pulse that was pushing Akuro downwards, keeping him from being able to move.
The black dragon that had been struck by Raijin's spear faded, and as it did Raijin spoke.
"It's too bad. You walked right into my trap, you did give a good show, I'll give you that." He raised the spear, the blade at Akuro's neck. "But this is where you end."
Akuro's eyes were completely focused in on Raijin's arm, as if he couldn't look away, not even when the cold blade of the Infinite Arashi was against his throat.
"What are you looking at, boy?" The god asked, but as he did, black coils of aura suddenly appeared around his harm, wrenching it in odd directions, snapping his entire king in multiple places, leaving to look misshapen and without any real form. Letting out a roar of pain, Raijin instinctively leapt away from Akuro, but he was left no time to recover.
Akuro dashed after Raijin, who, in a panic, swung his weapon in a wide arc, but Akuro draped to the ground below the attack, sweeping his leg over the ground and knocking Raijin off of his feet before jumping up and spinning in the air, his fist crashing into Raijin's chest, blasting a hole through the God's chest as his body was pounded into the ground, the earth cracking below them.
Raijin's expression contorted into that of pure rage as he reached up and grabbed Akuro's head, lightning bolting around his neck, decapitating him, blood dripping down on Raijin's face as he kicked Akuro's body away from him, crushing his decapitated skull in his hands.
Akuro slowly rose to his feet, blood spilling all across the ground and over his body as his head reformed, starting with the bone, then the flesh and muscle and lastly the skin.
"I must say, you have gotten much stronger.." Raijin spoke as his wounds healed over.
"Oi, it's too bad you don't get to see my full strength." Akuro responded.
"What?"
Akuro raised his finger, a thin line of black aura attached to his middle finger.
"Checkmate."
Akuro flicked his finger inwards, pulling the black string and as he did a black blade flew up from under the ground, piercing Raijin's chest and it swung up.
"What… when…" Raijin grabbed at the scythe as he black marks spread over his body.
"You really can't figure it out?" Akuro asked. "When you had me pinned under your magnetic field I used the aura from my dragon to break your arm, since the aura around my body was also trapped. But, I also used it to burrow my scythe in the ground, that way when you weren't paying attention, I could get a killing blow."
"Damn you… you are too cunning for your own good…" Raijin spat.
Akuro began walking towards Raijin. "Drop the toothpick, geezer, it's over. I've won."
Raijin smirked. "Really? You honestly think that's all it takes to kill a god?" Suddenly the Infinite Arashi began to glow a bright blue, as did Raijin's body, and as this happened the black marks of the God Slayer's seal began to fade away. Raijin pulled the weapon's blade from his body and dropped it, letting it clang on the ground.
"I see." Akuro observed. "You used the aura from your weapon as a means to overload and break the binding and free your actual aura."
"Ah, I see you still catch on quickly." Raijin said, gold and blue lightning forming around his body. "Come to think of it, you've never seen my Aura Cloak, have you, boy?"
"Can't say I have." Akuro answered, pulling his scythe into his hands.
"Well observe."
Gold light flickered around Raijin, shaping into a set of armor that reminded Akuro of a samurai, heavy, flat shoulder pads, thick chest plate, large helmet with two thin Oni horns and thick leg guards. On his back appeared a circular crest with eight symbols around it on small circular orbs of light, the mark of Raijin.
"Come, Akuro, show me your strength!" Raijin roared, spear in hand. "And I will show you mine!"