Stampeding through the city streets, crushing shocked citizens under his feet, he raised his leg and prepared to crush that ant-sized Jester. Implanted in the crater and riddled with wounds, Icarus gasped at his bones reorganizing, a satisfying pop accompanying the action. Standing proud, growing black wings out his spine, narrowly, he escaped the marching rage of the Judge's Giant. Gliding onto a rooftop, he watched Alex slam his foot onto the tiled ground, a bloody smirk infecting his appealing features.
Galactic Giant's white eyes shift to analyze his opponent's wounded stature. Behind the Mask of the Giant's head, Amara glared carelessly, strands covering his shoulders.
"To think that ability still exists in the New World... I doubt even the Reaper can do something like that. I wonder how special you feel being the only one who can utilize Requiem energy," Raspily commented the Jester.
'God, he's so annoying,' Alex diverted his eyes from Icarus, noticing the sphere confining him, 'Crushing this shithead right now would be most ideal but the way I am right now, I probably can't. I should just focus on escaping. And with that being said—'
He rushed right for the wall before him, sending a spark of realization through Icarus. Turning his head toward his stationed guards hidden amongst the plentiful rooftops, his jaw unhinged and his soft, malicious voice altered. He screamed at the top of his lungs. Alex could only wonder how desperate he truly was.
"MOBILIZE, EVERYONE!!! KILL ALEXANDER AMARA!! NO MATTER WHAT, BRING HIM DOWN!!!" The Jester King roared like a dominant dragon echoing through abandoned corridors.
Eyes wandering to the right as he continued to charge, Alex grumbled as he sprinted, focusing ahead yet again while thinking.
'Katie, Ace… I just want them to be okay.'
Suddenly, he lost his balance, for an explosion erupted in his ankle, sending him to tumble to his intact knee with a monstrous snarl. Turning his head at the armored tank rolling to his face, he swiped it away so it could go crashing into a wall. Exploding upon impact, charred bodies flew out the top, all while Al attempted to regain his composure.
'Those aren't normal tank rounds. They must be imbued with Takyr energy...'
Alex turned his Giant's head and witnessed his theory's confirmation. Standing beside armored cannons were demons with hands on the artillery; a simple touch was all it took for maximum power to be unleashed. To think such a fickle action could equal such unequivocal strength, Al chuckled. Even with this hulking figure of pure muscle, he could manage some way out of this—for he was sure the Reaper's student, the Emperor's son.
Once more, however, he fell. Sending an insatiable scratch through his nerves, Alex clicked his tongue. Scraping away at his back, he slapped literal ankle-biters in the form of demonic monsters off his back. Looking to his hand as their corpses released steam from their innards, Amara shook his head. Every time he attempted to recover, more enemies threw themselves into him, preventing him from moving. All the fault of this immovable mass the size of a dragon's wing… what an ironic comparison considering what he'd witness next.
Riding on a literal fire-breathing dragon spitting fire onto the street before him, the Jester stood proud atop the creature with two cleavers composed of light. What this told him to set him straight. It was like everything slowed down—the immediate rush to his head and the attempt to process everything had overwhelmed him. He could feel it weighing down on him as the Giant started to melt, the blanket of fire pressing his shoulders, Alex fell to his front with an angered grunt.
'What the hell's wrong with me? Deactivating the Unlimited… I'd put it back up but within this thing, I can't. I'm stuck. If this continues, I… I'm dead.'
But that was when he stared ahead. Walking through the raging flames, untouched by the inferno was none other than a single woman. White hair, purple eyes, tanned skin. The moment her hand touched his blazing forehead, his soul was singled out, and he was in her arms. His messy hair untangled from a bun sprawling her neck, face buried into the crook of her shoulder, his lips parted.
"I'm not strong enough! I… I never was. I could never be as good as August or Ben. Instead, I-I… I'm just going to die without having accomplished anything in the slightest. Because I'm too weak."
The faces of the children he helped; would he ever see them again? It felt like an eternity had passed since the last time he saw them smile, heard them laugh, feel Katie's warmth as the darkness from her past gradually faded away.
"What are you talking about, Alex?" Madi asked him, picking his face out her neck to see his teary eyes.
He stifled a sniffle, and turned away from her, shaking his head, more tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I was never special. Rivera, Karlo… I could never be strong enough to meet those expectations. Even with this all-powerful Unlimited—I just can't compare. I should just die."
His cheeks felt a soft touch, turning his head to meet her gaze. No fiery eyes, no flared nostrils, instead, she looked ahead at her son kindly, with a soft expression spread over her beautiful face. The tears stopped, and while he sniffled, he admired the shape of her face. To have a mother as gorgeous as her—surely, he must be dreaming.
"How old are you? 34, right? But, I guess I can't blame you for feeling this way even at your age. It hasn't even been that long since everything happened. The Advent. Hearing Hazel's last words, and seeing Ed slice to pieces. They're gone yet you remain. I know how painful it is, walking alone through the snow with nobody but yourself to blame. My brother— Ben… you and he are exactly alike. You don't have to be a Rivera or a Karlo to be strong in the New World. You be yourself, okay?" Madi turned her head, kissing his forehead, sliding his hair back to reveal his skin.
"I-I can try…" He uttered, wiping away the tears from his eyes' corners while sniffling.
"Hey," She beckoned softly, "Do your best. If not for yourself and not for your mother's spirit then for those kids. To see their smiles again and feel the warmth from their embraces—
Destroy everything... everything, my son."
He could feel it surging through his veins, whether it was reality or fantasy mattered not. But the pressure was irrelevant. In the outside world of Retly's defenses, atop his scaled dragon hovering over Alex's giant, the Jester spun the dual cleavers in anticipation. Surely, that wasn't all. There had to be more, no doubt. And unfortunately, he'd never been more right. Suddenly, the weight shifted atop the creature, and Icarus almost fell to the ground.
Hitching his breath then widening his eyes, he slashed behind him, and there Alex was. Not only did he swiftly duck the slice in time, but he effortlessly slid into a standing posture. Mutilating him with a simple chop at the wrist, Chrollo stood shocked. For such speed was unrivaled in the Jester's naked eyes, he could only try to slash again with his intact hand. He'd only swipe at an afterimage. After that, his neck was snapped and he was kicked off the dragon, leaving only one arm in his hand.
"That's not gonna be enough," Commented the Judge while clad in black energy, turning his head to the plentiful cannons aiming his way.
Pushing out his palm, the ground started to plummet in on itself, forming a huge crater beneath the winged creature he stood on. The epicenter only expanded, splashing the weapons and the soldiers into contortions of messy hair, missing limbs, and mangled heads. Some of them, however, were simply too stubborn to die so easily. Turning around to spot the boarders wielding weapons of their own, infuse with demonic energy, Alex scoffed.
"I don't have time for this," He whispered, then simply crunched onto his hand yet again, detonating himself and reforming yet another Giant.
The explosion sent the demon swordsmen into charred skeletons, not to mention the dragon suffering in flames. But just before it could hit the ground, it was caught into the steaming hand of Alex's Giant. Thinner than before with muscles formulating around his arms, abs plastered over his chest, and long hair moving with the wind, Amara noticed the wall ahead.
A bubble of what seemed like impenetrable glass-encased Retly's Capital. With one throw and a ton of luck on his side, the dragon was curled into a steaming ball then hurled above. Smashing through the barrier with ease, Alex chuckled, raising his arms and jumping after the throw.
"Game set! Hahaha!" Alex turned around to face the incoming military, still smiling.
More tanks, more riflemen, more back-biters… if he didn't start moving, Icarus, too, would soon revive and begin his chase. Turning tail and starting to sprint, the Giant's head started to unravel. Alex released the confining light threads from his wrists, grunting while doing so. Smaller body exposed, and hands-free to move, his Giant's legs continued to move, propelling him further down the road.
'Just a little bit further… until I can see you all again.'
However, this story couldn't end so easily. Pouncing on him at speeds unparalleled, Alex was tackled through the back of the Giant's head and onto the ground behind. The Judge suffered a punch to the face as he struggled to recover, grunting while the Jester had him pinned. Blood poured from Alex's nostrils, a crack formulating onto his forehead to spew gory droplets out the crease. Atop Alex, Chrollo's hand raised, preparing to slice his head clean off his shoulders.
Before his fingers could behead him, Al's legs entangled Icarus's neck and threw him forward. Tumbling into a roll, Chrollo halted his movement, watching the Judge stand tall. Formulating flying sickles of light from his hand as he swiped at the air, Alex easily swatted them away and inched closer. Leaping into the air with a clenched fist, his knuckles eviscerated the ground formerly beneath the Jester's rear.
Dodging the hit with a rearwards jump, Icarus bounced on his toes, inching forward. Alex raised his fists, crackles of white lightning bursting from his veins. However, the idea of a physical altercation involving his fists seemed barbaric, and so, seemingly out of his blood, a knife appeared in Icarus's hand. Spinning it around so he could grip it at the end with the tip aimed downward, the Jester smirked. Glaring at the Judge and he gazing right back, between an instant, their bodies vanished.
The environments surrounding them seemingly turned to a rushing background as Alex went for a clean kick to the skull's left. Instinctively ducking, he cut at his leg, but it immediately faded into transparency. Turning around and thrusting at his face with the dagger, Alex snatched his wrist and pulled him forward. About to punch him in the face, Icarus unhinged his jaw to release a beam of superheated light.
Once again, he vanished, and the Jester was released from the Judge's grasp. Suddenly, a whistling sound sent a question mark over his head, and he leaped backward. In less time it took the eye to register its surroundings, Alexander had crushed the ground in a dive, sending a shockwave throughout the street.
Firstly covering his face with his arms, Icarus gradually released his defenses, glancing around for a sign of Alex's whereabouts. Suddenly, however, he ducked, just barely dodging a fist to his skull's left. Grabbing the arm with his right hand, Icarus slammed Al over his shoulder, cracking the very ground he'd crashed into.
Opening his eyes after the landing, he rolled to the right, continuously sliding from the trajectory of multiple stomps implanting prints in the street's stone. Rolling into a storefront, back against a window, the dagger crashed into the border, sending it to shards against the interior. Dodging between his legs with a slide as he inched closer, Amara sliced at his heel, sending Icarus to one knee.
Grabbing at his long hair then yanking him to the ground, his foot stomped at his chest, and burst through his outsides. Dirtying his attire in a bright red as splatters of blood entered the air, Alex's uncaring grimace altered. Not at action, but, rather, a sound. Suddenly, he remembered an awful presence that should stay repressed. In a split second, the barrier activated once again, and he was sent flying into a closed door then out the other wall.
Tumbling into another street with a bloody nose, Alex scratched his head, ruffling his hair. Cracking his back, then his knuckles, he bunched up some of his locks and tied them into a single bun set atop his long hair.
Emerging out the wall with two hands grabbing at the wall, Icarus entered the same space, only some feet away from the Judge's perimeter. Something differed, though. His aura revealed itself, and it wasn't pretty. Instead of being the usual mysterious demon, it was incredibly evil. Menacing to the core with a monster of a shadow looming over the rear of his spirit, claws aching to sink into flesh while fangs shone against the day's glamorous shin—begging to obliterate Heaven's glow once and for all.
But he'd recognize that feeling anywhere. None other than the Blessed Emperor that tainted the battlefield of the Destructive Advent—inhabiting his body. Unraveling his whip from his belt yet again, he crackled it and entangled it around his fingers, aiming his sight ahead. The Requiem Judge branded his weapon, gazing forward with but one thought on his mind and one look in his eyes.
The white eyes of Dark Determination infinitely burnt until the embers of the flame would dwindle. And all that would remain to remind the world of its existence was a black spot charred into the old ground.
To Be Continued.