'What's happening…?'
The winged man breathed heavily during his fall to the ground, his eyes no longer shimmering their listless green color. He was unaware of why he descended downward rapidly, why he was out in the middle of nowhere, or why a familiar redhead was chasing after him.
It was as if he simply woke up, returning from what was supposed to be an eternal slumber. He could feel the power that once drained him surge through his veins and brim his body full of the magic he previously boasted so audaciously.
Tadashi, formerly known as Lord Phoenix, was alive and well—back from the dead.
The resurrected Tadashi felt his face, tracing the long scar that remained on his face. He was bereft of his kitsune mask, along with his army, Shinkaku, and his ever-dominating alias, Lord Phoenix.
His heart worked rapidly, adrenaline fueling him like his Aura Sense.
"This fight won't turn out like the last one!" Yuso declared from above, slamming into Tadashi violently and causing a massive rupture in the earth upon plummeting into it.
*CRASH!*
The landing shattered the battlefield beyond repair, the damage being quite visible from above the Earth's atmosphere. Hundreds of thousands of warriors from both Shanti and Adonai perished instantaneously, including the undead warriors unleashed by Regashi.
"Grgh!" Tadashi spewed blood from his mouth, lying on the ground motionlessly.
Yuso towered over Tadashi with his Shirugeto eyes boring into the winged man, the redhead's fist lodged deep inside the ashy-blonde-haired man's chest.
"Submit," Yuso demanded coldly, twisting his fist inside the man's body agonizingly. "Or I will decide for you."
Still enwrapped in Yuso's burning crimson chains, Tadashi thrashed around painfully, his jaw clenched tightly.
"You have no right… to order a god around!"
*SHRRM!*
Suddenly, copious amounts of tendrils made of light spawned around Yuso with many brilliant flashes. The redhead's eyes flitted to the magic around him, a small breath of air escaping his lips briefly.
Time proceeded to slow down for Yuso as he attempted to utilize his Shirugeto and teleport to another location, only for Tadashi to grasp the Crimson Stalker's forearm in a vice-like grip, transporting the both of them elsewhere before the winged man's tendrils inevitably exploded.
*BOOM!*
Yuso and Tadashi immediately landed on a large chunk of the earth that was created from the two's previous collision with the ground.
"You're even more obstinate alive!" Yuso exclaimed as he pulled away from the winged man's grasp.
Tadashi, who managed to free one of his arms from the crimson chains, planted a foot into the mound they resided on and hopped backward to increase the distance between him and the demonic redhead.
The winged man gathered his equilibrium swiftly, glowering at his opponent intensely. "I remember you, Devil! I recall how I spared your life! You were nothing but an ant with his head held too high! Now look at you: encompassing these lands with your resentment, just as I envisioned!"
"Then it'd do you well to envision your imminent death," Yuso responded without hesitation as his cursed eyes whirled.
Tadashi grunted angrily, his yellow eyes gaining a dangerous glint. "I'll do you a service and steal that curse of yours… the Shirugeto is too good for you!"
Yuso narrowed his eyes, his eyes spinning faster.
"Then perhaps I shall steal your wings for myself."
*BRRRM!*
The area was quickly covered in red pentagrams, each of them facing Tadashi. The winged man had little to no time to react as they all released red beams of light—*KABOOM!*—that headed straight toward him.
'Damn! I can't phase through the attacks with this damn chain wrapped around me! Unfortunately for him, I have more than just one trick up my sleeve!' The ashy-blonde-haired man took a few moments to think, flexing his hands.
Stretching his right arm outward, every red beam that was expelled from the pentagrams froze in space. Tilting his right hand slightly, Tadashi successfully turned the beams in Yuso's direction, preparing to fire off once more at the redhead.
"You're still just a mortal! Bestowed with more power than he could even comprehend!" Tadashi admonished the Crimson Stalker aggressively, his face painted with ire.
The red-headed male analyzed Tadashi intently; several thoughts ran through his head as Yuso tried to formulate a plan to subdue the crazed-winged man with seemingly godlike powers.
'As long as that chain remains tangled around him, close combat is my best choice of action…' Yuso affirmed his thoughts, angling his knees to lunge at the winged man.
*BRRRRMMM!*
With the flick of Tadashi's wrist, every one of the red beams continued their journey through the air in Yuso's direction, forcing the redhead to teleport away from the incoming blast.
Without warning, Yuso reappeared behind Tadashi and shoved a stone spike through the man's ribcage.
"Gragh!" Tadashi howled in pain, clenching Yuso's stone spike. "You damn Devil!"
Yuso kept the spike stuck inside Tadashi's ribcage as he then made another crimson chain fly out of his palm and wrap it around the winged man's neck, pulling him closer.
"You are no being of divinity if a mere chain can keep you restrained!" Yuso spouted indignantly, yanking the spike out of the man's body.
Flapping his wings wildly, Tadashi subjected the two of them to soar through the Detrimental War's battleground aimlessly. With his right hand, the winged man hurriedly gripped Yuso's neck, causing the Crimson Stalker to choke and gasp for breath.
"You'll have no advantage over me, Devil!" Tadashi yelled as he began to absorb the redhead's magic through the palm of his hand, weakening Yuso with every passing second.
Gradually, Yuso's magic began to dwindle while his Shirugeto spun at a slower rate. In a state of momentary panic, the redhead released Tadashi and let the winged man fly away, enabling Yuso to regain his breath and refuel himself with his Aura Sense.
'His magic is more lethal than I initially believed… his power is more potent than mine and close-quarter combat is a challenge if he can simply weaken me with just a touch.' The Crimson Stalker breathed laboriously, his lost strength returning.
Yuso eventually made contact with the ground, standing tall as he looked to the skies for the self-proclaimed god. Due to the two of them having near-equal potency in their magic, detecting one another was a hassle as they could cloak their Aura Sense from one another to a certain degree. And with the redhead having a chunk of his magic absorbed, Tadashi could remain cloaked for a longer amount of time.
"This is how it should be!" Tadashi suddenly bellowed from above, garnering Yuso's attention. "With me way above, and with you below my feet!"
Unknown as to why, Tadashi extended his right hand forward with his palm facing Yuso.
"Along with me remaining superior to an ant like you!" The winged man shouted further, allowing an abundance of magic to swell up in his outstretched arm.
Yuso adopted a perplexed visage as the space in front of Tadashi began to warp oddly, proceeding to collapse and create a sphere that was completely devoid of any light whatsoever. The redhead could immediately feel a magnetic pull begin to form as the ground around him was ripped apart and the wind was tugged toward Tadashi.
The redhead's eyes broadened. 'A black hole…'
How was Yuso supposed to defeat a black hole? A sphere that swallows both energy and anything physical? Even if the Crimson Stalker poured all of his Aura Sense into a single Genso-Kyu and unleashed his mightiest blast, the black hole would swallow all of that magic without any difficulty.
With limited time, Yuso racked his brain for answers, watching as the earth around him was torn to shreds due to the small black hole floating up above. The crimson chains that restrained Tadashi flung off of the winged man's body and allowed him to permeate once more and remain unaffected by the black hole's magnetism.
"I refuse to be merciful anymore, Devil! You had your chance to escape my wrath, but your insolence and resentment will still be your downfall!" Tadashi roared patronizingly, glaring at the redhead beneath him.
After observing the black hole for a few seconds longer, Yuso finally conjured up an idea. Black holes swallow light, but if he simply moved faster than light, he would remain unscathed. As to erasing the black hole itself, the Crimson Stalker reflected on his own curse's capabilities. Much like a black hole, the Shirugeto's pentagrams could swallow energy and physical objects with relative ease.
So, with both speed and cursed magic in his arsenal, Yuso could theoretically subdue the black hole entirely.
Yuso swiftly brimmed himself with an immense amount of his Aura Sense, leading to the redhead's perception of time slowing down tremendously. As of now, not even the speed of light could compare to Yuso's senses. Shortly after the redhead slowed time down for himself, he forced his Shirugeto to spin rapidly in a clockwise motion, which formed a single crimson pentagram in front of him.
*BRRRRMM!*
The pentagram was quick to proceed, inhaling its surroundings, which ranged from the Earth to all of the properties in the space before it. Before, Yuso could not match the power of a black hole; however, after being forced to adapt to much more powerful and combative situations, as signified by his ever-growing red hair, the Crimson Stalker's Aura Sense managed to incline in potency exponentially.
'If I am Lucifer's successor, then I need to be able to bend all properties of life to my will, just as he did during the Keisan War against the gods…' Yuso thought to himself silently, his Shirugeto shining brighter.
Eventually, the forces from the black hole and the pentagram clashed with each other, ripping the space between the two to nothingness. Yuso gritted his teeth as every muscle in his body was strained. The Crimson Stalker wanted to prove that he could make even the universe itself submit to him; he had no care for whether it was foolishness or pride—all Yuso desired was absolute control, and he was going to achieve it one way or another.
Other warriors partaking in the Detrimental War watched the spectacle of the two extreme forces fighting each other, temporarily putting the war on hold as they feared the power presented before them.
"That's the Crimson Stalker!" A warrior from Adonai hollered frightfully, his eyes practically bulging out of his head.
A few feet away, a troop of Shanti's mouth was agape. "The Crimson Stalker!? That's the Crimson Stalker!? Who is he fighting!?"
As the two magnetic entities fought for superiority, Tadashi's anger grew.
"Is this what you want to happen, Devil!? To destroy everything, all for a little display of power!?" The winged man shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice piercing through the ears of every warrior nearby.
Yuso exhaled deeply, his Shirugeto whirling even faster. "This isn't your world anymore, you fraudulent god… Once you submit, this planet will be mine to fix!"
Surprisingly, the black hole started to slowly decrease in size as the front of the sphere was pulled toward the pentagram, making Tadashi's eyes widen.
"No!" The winged man screamed.
*SSRRHHHH!*
Eventually, the black hole that Tadashi created was forced into the mouth of Yuso's pentagram, ending the two entities' clash.
Both Yuso and Tadashi were breathing heavily, staring at each other with either malice or determination. Tadashi, who felt malice, also felt fear surge through him at an unprecedented pace. Regashi Ketsueki was the only warrior who had ever topped his magic's potency—but here he was, outdone by the Crimson Stalker of Adonai.
"I'm a god! You shouldn't be able to even touch me!" Tadashi fell victim to his temper, balling his hands into fists.
Yuso, whose hair had inadvertently grown longer than before, locked eyes with the winged man hovering in the air, pride coursing through his veins.
"Then I suppose you'll die like the past gods… slain by a Devil!" Yuso stated loudly, coating his fists with his red Aura Sense.
Tadashi growled. "Don't forget! I'm no longer held back by your chains, Devil! You won't be able to touch me!"
The Crimson Stalker's lips were pulled upward ever so slightly, almost resembling a smirk. "Your permeability is nothing but a mere worry of the past for me now, fraudulent god... My magic's potency easily overwhelms yours, which means that not even your 'godlike' powers can keep you from certain death!"
Suddenly—*WHOOSH!*—Yuso vanished into thin air, only to flicker back into existence directly in front of Tadashi and sink his hand into the winged man's heart like a blade.
"T-the gods' only mistake was creating monsters like you…!" Tadashi said in a groping voice, his face scrunched up from the pain throbbing through his upper body.
Yuso narrowed his demonic eyes. "Their only mistake was getting involved with humanity."
The redhead then retracted his hand from Tadashi's pierced heart.
"I nearly forgot... I promised that I'd take your wings for myself, the same way you promised to take my eyes. I believe we now know who's better at making promises." Yuso claimed stoically, letting the pentagrams embedded in his palms glow brightly.
The Crimson Stalker grabbed Tadashi by his black wings, leading to the two feathery appendages to disappear from the ashy-blonde-haired man's back.
"This time, I want you to stay dead," Yuso said, punching Tadashi through the skull, his entire head splitting into hundreds of pieces.
As Yuso began to return to the ground, no longer lifted by Tadashi, two bumps began to emerge from the redhead's back, soon sprouting out from his skin and spreading outward.
"Having wings feels more strange than I thought… but I'll just have to acclimate to them."
Stretching out of Yuso's back, the curse Tengoku no Gaido was in full effect, giving the Crimson Stalker a pair of black, feathery wings.
"Now—onto finding the boy."
XXX
There goes Lord Phoenix for the third time! Despite being outrageously powerful, he failed to beat the sheer amount of drive and hate in Yuso's dark heart! Now, let me say this real quick—Lord Phoenix, or Tadashi, is not as weak as I portray him as! Don't forget, he easily ripped the moon to shreds with one hand and practically lifted every mass of land on Earth in the alternate universe, which is the same Lord Phoenix as in the Abnormal Universe(the novel's main universe)! I just kept pitting him against equally powerful opponents! I might dedicate some chapters to another variation of Lord Phoenix in the far future after the novel is finished. However, I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_