Lord Phoenix's eyes never strayed from Regashi. His breath radiated quietly throughout his kitsune mask. The smug countenance that Regashi adorned filled the masked lord with brimming fury; the way he lazed in his throne—his right leg resting atop his other while his hand propped his head comfortably.
"Before we begin," Lord Phoenix spoke, piquing Regashi's interest. "I'd like you to inform me of Kiyo's location."
Regashi's grin deepened. "Very well."
With a little movement of his finger, Kiyo, the former member of the Furusato Unit, appeared through a cyclone of flames, dissipating shortly after. His body looked broken, blood seeping from several cuts that laced his skin. To Lord Phoenix's surprise, grains of sand trickled from his clothes. All the original scythe-wielder could do was lie on the cold ground helplessly.
"I thank Shiki for storing his body somewhere safe until you arrived," Regashi commented subtly, breaking Lord Phoenix out from his clouding anger.
Lord Phoenix's voice pierced through the throne hall with a cold demeanor. "You have quite the nerve to maim a member of Shinkaku—especially with such a vulgar display."
Regashi chuckled. "That's right—that little organization of yours. I find it odd how you can sacrifice a hundred of your little pawns but seek the moral high ground over the harming of a single man."
"You know nothing of my followers. None of those men were dispensible; they risked their lives for a greater purpose." Lord Phoenix rationalized indignantly, not allowing his anger to completely permeate through his words.
"Right…" Regashi deadpanned, standing up from his throne leisurely.
"Once I eliminate you, your band of rogues will be allocated appropriate punishments. Perhaps death is a reasonable enough solution to end their malicious intent against these lands." Lord Phoenix stated, his eyes glinting dangerously.
With a few indolent steps, Regashi walked down from his majestic throne, his dark cloak and brown hair swaying with every motion of his descending downward to level ground with Lord Phoenix.
Closing his eyes, Regashi took his last step, reaching the stone ground of the throne hall. The masked lord standing meters away remained unmoved, but his eyes narrowed. Discretely clenching his hands, Lord Phoenix awaited further actions from the brown-haired king.
"There's only one person who preached so highly about their cause that I've encountered. But, I removed him from my life long ago—I can only hope that he isn't making foolish decisions today." Regashi informed, his voice unperturbed.
Lord Phoenix swiftly replied, "Are you going to stop playing and finally face me?"
"Oh, I will," Regashi answered. "However, don't you think that it'd be unjust to fight in such a dark atmosphere?"
The moment Regashi opened his eyes, the entire space around them began to shift. In mere seconds, the area transitioned from the aged castle of Furusato to barren land, the ground made up of solid rock. There wasn't a single structure or hill in sight for miles. What's more, Kiyo's body evidently faded with the rest of the previous world.
Lord Phoenix, on the other hand, seemed unphased by the occurrence. It was almost as if the masked lord expected such a thing to happen.
"There, isn't that better?" Regashi asked, looking to the sky serenely.
Lord Phoenix spoke, "Stop dallying. I have no time for your games—if you wish to waste time, I'll just have to initiate this fight myself."
"Fine, fine." Regashi ceased, his lips retaining their upward curvature.
Lord Phoenix grumbled extending his right arm outward. "I'll show you the true power of Shinkaku, mark my words."
Within that instance, Lord Phoenix's palm shone brightly. A mixture of every Aura Sense stirred within his hand, charging up with every passing second. Lord Phoenix's clothes staggered from the power leaking into his hand.
"I'll make sure that you regret existing."
*KABOOM!*
Suddenly, a beam that effortlessly compares to the size of a mountain shot out from Lord Phoenix's hand at incredible speeds, flying toward Regashi eagerly. The beam disintegrated the rocky ground below, leaving a massive trail.
Soon, the colossal beam collided with Regashi, passing through the brown-haired king with ease. Immediately after, the beam started to fade, diminishing after a few moments.
Once the beam disappeared, nothing was left. The ground was reduced to nothing and Regashi was no longer standing where he once was. Lord Phoenix looked at the area tersely.
"He's still alive." Lord Phoenix said to himself.
Without warning, a spike spouted from the ground beneath Lord Phoenix, forcing the masked lord to dash away. But, to Lord Phoenix's dismay, more spikes appeared, rupturing out of the ground.
Slamming his palm downward, the stone ground shattered, eradicating every incoming spike instantly. With that act, a massive crater that could fit several villages took up the area around Lord Phoenix.
"Present yourself now!" Lord Phoenix demanded, shouting out into the empty air.
"Like this?"
Lord Phoenix spun immediately, his eyes dilating upon spotting Regashi standing behind him with an arm raised slightly. Within those short moments, Lord Phoenix stuck his palms outward, creating a barrier of magic.
Then, Regashi swatted at Lord Phoenix with his raised hand. The masked lord was launched an innumerable amount of meters backward, clashing with the stone ground violently. However, once he crash-landed, he dug his legs into the ground and stabilized himself, his feet dragging through the stone.
"That won't be enough to kill me!" Lord Phoenix boasted, raising his arms toward the sky.
With that swift motion, chunks of stone flew into the sky, resembling mountain-sized waves. Within seconds, those waves of stone surged toward Regashi, the ends of each wave morphing into a fox head, hungry to smush the brown-haired king into oblivion.
Still on the ground, watching the mountain-sized waves close in, Regashi's eyes glinted. "How interesting…"
Raising one hand, Regashi jabbed his index finger toward the impending waves of rock. Once the humongous waves of stone got close enough, they suddenly crashed into what appeared to be nothing, halting them completely.
"...But weak." Regashi declared.
With a single snap of his fingers—*snap!*—every mountain-sized wave of rock shattered, falling to the ground as nothing but huge boulders.
As it rained giant rocks, Lord Phoenix melted into the ground, vanishing without a trace. But, Lord Phoenix then emerged from below behind Regashi, warranting a look of wonder from the brown-haired king for a moment.
With anger, Lord Phoenix conjured several tendrils of magic out of thin air, throwing all of them at the supposedly unexpecting Regashi. In seconds, each tendril impaled Regashi, knocking his body to the ground forcefully.
"Your tricks run dry with me. All you're doing is delaying your fate!" Lord Phoenix proclaimed, retracting his arms.
"What," Lord Phoenix heard a voice speak behind him, "Not entertained?"
Steering his body, Lord Phoenix felt Regashi's fist smash into his face. Lord Phoenix could hear as his mask cracked, the light from the sun showing through small crevices. From the sheer force of the punch, Lord Phoenix was, once again, knocked back. As Lord Phoenix was flung through the air, the stone-grounded world he was once standing in vanished, leaving his surroundings filled with nothing but grass and trees.
Standing off in the distance, Regashi lowered his arm, smirking at the fallen Lord Phoenix. "I figured a change of scenery could interest you, then."
Lord Phoenix desperately clutched his face, feeling his mask crumble within his hands. His eyes became strained, and his hold on his face tightened. With every piece that broke off from his fox mask, a small portion of his face was revealed.
"Just like before," Regashi spoke abruptly.
Lord Phoenix slowly rose, pushing himself up from the now grassy ground. His hair, appearing to be ashy-blond, dangled from his tilted head. His hand that clutched his face fell to his side. Soon, Lord Phoenix stood tall.
"You were too weak to defeat me… Tadashi."
Standing before Regashi, Lord Phoenix's mask was gone, being nothing but broken pieces on the ground, revealing a scar-ridden face with gritted teeth and ashy-blonde hair.
Lord Phoenix glared at Regashi. "You… You dare insult me with your stolen power!?"
Regashi smiled. "So you do remember me, Tadashi?"
Lord Phoenix's glare became more fixated on Regashi, his teeth grounding together with more force, surprising Regashi on how they haven't yet cracked.
"Tadashi no longer exists…" Lord Phoenix choked, crossing his arm, his palms sticking outward. "My name is Lord Phoenix… and I will soon become the god that everyone in the three nations will worship!"
Lord Phoenix then pushed his arms out, releasing a powerful force that uprooted every tree within two hundred kilometers. As that occurred, Lord Phoenix hopped up into the sky, ascending above the seemingly endless forest.
As Lord Phoenix was in the air, he looked down to the ground, his glare sticking to Regashi's distant form.
"I won't be looked down upon anymore! Not by Derrien, not by the three nations, and not by you!" Lord Phoenix shouted, his expression becoming hysterical.
Shockingly, Lord Phoenix's back bent, his skin stretching in two small parts. Without a moment's notice, two giant, feathery, black wings sprouted from Lord Phoenix's back, assisting the ashy-haired man to hover over the forest more controllably.
Lord Phoenix felt nothing but pain from where his wings emerged, his skin having been ripped to allow the new, feathery forelimbs to be free.
'I did it…' Lord Phoenix thought to himself.
'I finally became… a god!'
XXX
Tadashi, or Lord Phoenix, lay on the grassy ground after losing to Regashi for the first time. Blood poured from the fresh wound that marred his face, prompting the ashy-blonde-haired man to grip the grass, ripping it from the ground in agony.
Slowly, he stood back up, hesitantly taking a step to walk.
'Why!? Why in all of the gods' names would Derrien lend Regashi so much power!? I… I can't even compare. None of us in the group can. Only three of us succeeded in gaining the power of gods, but Regashi—a mere teenager—received everything I dreamed of!'
Tadashi wobbled his way through the grassy hills of Adonai, his more trivial injuries appearing to heal quickly, enabling the man to walk normally.
'It doesn't matter…' Tadashi declared, mentally. 'I'll resume with my plan. I'll travel to Shanti—seemingly second heaven for those with power. There, I'll get stronger. Regashi won't have a chance then. I'll make sure of it.'
XXX
Lord Phoenix grazed the scar on his face lightly, feeling the bump that indicated its presence.
"Now," Lord Phoenix started to speak, "with the blessing of Tengoku no Gaido, donning me with these wings, both the lands and heavens are at my control!"
With those words, Lord Phoenix thrust his arms out, his palms facing the sky. Gradually, Lord Phoenix pushed his arms up, clenching his hands into fists. Due to this, the ground below started to crack, distancing itself from the earth and flying upward.
Multiple mounds of dirt hovered in the air, leaving Regashi with less area to walk on. The brown-haired king bore a monotonous expression, only a single eyebrow was raised in wonder.
'Those eyes,' Lord Phoenix thought, 'Those damn, patronizing eyes!'
As Lord Phoenix practically tore the lands apart, Regashi watched as every mound of dirt that hovered in the air quickly became coated with magic, illuminating the sky brilliantly with four different colors: blue, red, yellow, and purple.
"Although on a small scale, this is how the gods made the stars that light up the galaxy!" Lord Phoenix claimed, his voice heavy and ragged.
True to the lord's words, every mound in the sky was soon encompassed with magic, resembling stars.
"With this," Lord Phoenix murmured, "I expect you to die!"
Every star-like sphere that blocked out the sky soon began to rumble, suddenly getting much brighter. Regashi's eyes glinted in acknowledgment, then a smile.
Without any warning, each minuscule star-like sphere floating in the sky—*BOOM!*—exerted powerful beams, all directed at where Regashi stood. It took no longer than a few seconds for the beams to collide with the ground, creating a massive explosion and leveling the ground for miles.
*KABOOM!*
It was blinding. The immense amount of light radiating from the attack could be seen from far away—it was even bedazzling to Lord Phoenix, who remained in the sky, his wings keeping him up.
"Finally… I won" Lord Phoenix exhaled, his eyes becoming half-lidded from exhaustion.
Or, at least, he thought he won.
Suddenly, the smoke, debris, and light that came from the attack all began to fade, all of it being consumed. It didn't take long until everything that was created from the attack was sucked in, confusing Lord Phoenix.
But, what he saw next shocked him.
Regashi, standing up straight, completely unscathed, had his right hand pushed out, his hand in the shape of a gun. Remnants of the smoke and debris were sucked into his index finger, warranting a bright glow at the tip.
Then, Regashi pointed the finger gun toward Lord Phoenix, a sadistic smirk finding its way to Regashi's face.
"Stupid Tadashi, I told you: you're too weak."
With all of the power from Regashi's index finger, Regashi discharged a quick and powerful beam that struck Lord Phoenix instantly, enabling Regashi to watch as the ashy-blonde-haired man fell to the ground.
XXX
Everything hurts. Lord Phoenix, just like in his first fight with Regashi, lay on the ground in pain. It wasn't supposed to go this way. He was supposed to win, kill Regashi, and become a god—become the moral compass for generations!
On his ragged body, his clothes were torn, the familiar sight of crimson liquid oozing from various cuts and lacerations. All Lord Phoenix could see was the sun, but then, it was blocked by a humanoid figure. Regashi.
"I told you, Tadashi. You refused to listen." Regashi stated, looking down at Lord Phoenix.
Lord Phoenix's dry, bloodied lips moved slightly. "...Why? Wh-what goal could you have in mind to g-go through with all of this?"
Regashi's expression morphed immediately. From playful to serious.
"I guess a parting message wouldn't hurt," Regashi spoke, closing his eyes.
With a deep breath, Regashi spoke:
"This nation, along with the other two, was never destined for peace. Humanity is too close-minded. We're shackled by chains that not even the gods could break. Their mere concept of advancing humanity not only tore a rift in life but destroyed the lives of millions. With my goal, one shared with my fellow rogues in the Furusato Unit, we'd all be one. One goal, one ideal to live by, and one mind to think by. We'd all be more than just peaceful—we'd be the true definition of 'equal'."
Lord Phoenix took a moment to respond, contemplating his next set of dying words.
"What… is your goal?"
Regashi smiled. "It's too early to disclose that, Tadashi. Maybe in the afterlife, you'll observe with close eyes."
That was all Lord Phoenix wanted to hear, closing his eyes slowly.
Lord Phoenix was dead.
XXX
Long fight, huh? Well, I liked it. Also, big speech from Regashi, right? What could his goal be? Whatever it is, make sure you stay tuned!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_