The air was thin, with the red planet's cold temperature coursing through its lands. However, this went unnoticed when faced with the intense heat of Imawashiki's fire and Nozomu's lightning. The two dragon vessels stared each other down silently, wordlessly daring one another to continue their battle.
*SWOOSH!*
Without warning, Imawashiki raced toward Nozomu, his flames following shortly after him.
*KRRSSH!*
Imawashiki's knuckles clashed with Nozomu's left arm in a vicious punch, irreversibly fracturing the planet's surface. The fiery abomination lunged toward Nozomu's face, his other hand enveloped in fire. Quickly moving his right arm to catch his opponent's hand, the wielder of lightning was rendered ineffective as Imawashiki's fingers changed into flame and traveled through Nozomu's arm, latching onto his face securely.
"You could have surrendered, Kaminari!" Imawashiki roared, his brown eyes burning with fury.
A torrent of fire was promptly expelled from Imawashiki's hand, directly contacting Nozomu's face and creating a storm of fire that blanketed half of Mars's land.
*KABOOM!*
Through the flames, Nozomu's hand surged outward and wrapped around the fiery abomination's throat. It was instantaneous as Imawashiki was suddenly pushed downward, crashing through the center of the red planet and emerging above ground once again after being forced through all of Mars.
"Your fire won't work on me," Nozomu spoke through a heavy breath, holding his opponent by his neck. "...But, my lightening will be more than effective on you."
*FWOOSH!*
*KABOOM!*
Suddenly, Imawashiki's body was illuminated by an intense blaze, quickly shifting into a mighty explosion that propelled Nozomu into the vastness of space and transformed Mars into ash in the process.
Utilizing his wings, Nozomu halted himself in the depths of space, once again bereft of oxygen and sound. The white-haired vessel glanced down at his white cloak, noticing the faint burn marks and tears on the fabric. As it turned out, Imawashiki's fire was capable of breaching through Nozomu's barrier of magic, which he coated around his body, his slightly tattered apparel proving such.
The black streaks on Nozomu's body pulsed, a light blue hue emanating from him.
'This may end up with both of us dead…'
Resembling a vicious meteor, Imawashiki barreled through space and swiped at Nozomu with an open hand, hoping to latch onto the white-haired vessel. Fortunately for Nozomu, he managed to evade the fiery abomination's advancements by flying to the side.
Imawashiki immediately spun himself around and swung his hand downward, enabling flames to ripple forward like a blade. With ease, Nozomu maneuvered around the incoming fire, retaliating with several streaks of lightning that sought the fiery abomination out like ravenous hounds.
'...His lightning is as effective as my fire, it seems.' Imawashiki thought as the lightning permeated through his torso. 'We're only vulnerable to our physical attacks. His lightning is limited, but he, himself, isn't.'
Nozomu then reeled himself back, canceling the lightning that clung to his hands.
'He seems to have realized the same thing.' Imawashiki noted.
The white-haired vessel wanted to inhale, but his current environment was rather limited. His blue eyes briefly flitted passed Imawashiki, staring directly into the sun and all of its glory.
'He can't be charged up enough to withstand it… I hope.' Nozomu thought to himself, clenching his fists.
Nozomu's body shimmered once again, his eyes shifting to Imawashiki.
'It's just a straight shot… sunlight travels to Earth every day, so all I have to do is push this bastard into the center of the sun—simple.' The white-haired vessel angled his body, his wings furling up in preparation.
Imawashiki was unaware of his opponent's plans, his brown eyes surveying the wielder of lightning critically. He was wary of Nozomu, especially given that he was substantially slower than him at top speeds. Even if the flaming abomination attempted to turn his body into intangible fire, Nozomu's speed would allow him to make contact with Imawashiki before the transformation occurred.
Before another thought could surface in Imawashiki's mind, Nozomu flapped his wings and flung forward, ramming into the fiery abomination and dragging him through space at speeds far beyond light.
For a small moment, Nozomu could see Imawashiki's face, triggering something within the white-haired vessel.
XXX
"Hurry up, Kami! We're gonna miss our chance!" A young and exuberant voice shouted, piercing the ears of the nearest person.
"Shut up, moron! You're going to alert the guards with your big mouth." Another voice responded roughly, followed by a huff.
A small boy with midnight-black hair and brown eyes bounced in his spot joyously, a wide grin plastered on his face. "We need to make it to the hill before it's too late! Those stupid guards are off duty! We can lay in the grass again! I heard the moon was out, too!"
A small, white-haired boy, referred to as Kami, sighed. "The moon usually is out at night, idiot."
The two boys, both at the age of twelve, were currently in a small room with small beds properly allocated in all fitting spaces in the room. The brown-eyed boy leaped off of his bed, waiting for Kami to follow suit.
"Yeah, but it's a full moon! Asa told me! Her, Rebbie, and Heiki are already waiting outside!" The brown-eyed boy asserted happily, racing to the door of the room.
Kami exhaled and picked himself up from the bed, landing on the cold floor, and ambling toward the front of the room. "Just keep your voice down."
The brown-eyed boy chuckled giddily, twisting the doorknob and slowly opening the door, eliciting a few quiet creaks from the hinges. The two boys skillfully tip-toed through various hallways and rooms, avoiding confrontation with any adult they thought might jeopardize their plans. Eventually, the two arrived at an exit, meeting up with three other younglings.
"What took you so long!?" A girl with brown hair demanded in a hushed tone, glaring at the two boys.
The brown-eyed boy slipped past the three kids and pressed his face against the exit door. "Kami was being a slouch, Rebbie! Blame him!"
A small hand suddenly pinched the brown-eyed boy's ear. "And you were being too loud!"
A blue-haired girl scowled at the boy furiously, her irate gaze making him recoil in fear.
"Ow! I'm sorry, Asa! Please let me go!" The brown-eyed boy pleaded, clutching onto the blue-haired girl's arm weakly.
An amethyst-haired boy groaned nervously. "You're all being too loud! We need to go now if we want to go at all!"
Kami crept toward the exit door, slightly opening it and surveying the outside world. "We need to listen to Heiki and get going. Nobody's out here, so we can go."
After a few seconds of bickering and hesitation, the five kids scurried outside and into the night, remaining together as they wearily traversed through a small village. After an excruciating ten minutes, the group inevitably arrived at a wall, indicating the end of the village.
The brown-eyed boy snickered, rushing to the front of the group. "Everybody huddle together! I'm a natural at this!"
Hurriedly, four of the kids grabbed a hold of each other, excluding the brown-eyed boy.
"Alright… Three, two…" The brown-eyed boy started counting down, his hands latching onto Kami and the blue-haired girl called Asa, her face reddening subtly.
"...One!"
*FWOOSH!*
A small cyclone of fire engulfed the group in seconds, devouring them all and carrying them away. The younglings materialized all at once on the other side of the village wall, their feet falling on the soft bed of grass underneath them.
"How do you guys do that almost every week and not get caught!?" The amethyst-haired kid named Heiki queried fearfully, patting himself down in fear of being burned.
The brown-eyed boy stepped outward, laughing. "We did get caught that one time, but other than that, me and Kami are just smarter than the stupid warriors in the village!"
Rebbie, the brown-haired girl, hummed. "Well, Tokuni is an extremely poor village, so I'm not surprised that the guards aren't exactly… good."
Asa marched forward, standing next to the brown-eyed boy. "Whatever! We just need to get to the hill and we've made it!"
Nodding in agreement, the twelve-year-old younglings walked through the grass, admiring the outdoors at every second. The brown-eyed boy, who jogged ahead of the group, pointed to a hill a few feet away.
"Welcome to 'The Hill!" He exclaimed with a grin, waving his hands dramatically.
Climbing the hill, the younglings quickly seated themselves in the grass, running their hands through the delicate blades of nature.
"Look! The moon!" The brown-eyed boy hollered, his head tilted up and his eyes locked on the floating rock in the sky.
Kami posited himself next to the boy, resting his head against the hill. "You see it every week—stop acting so surprised."
Rebbie punched the white-haired kid's shoulder and said, "Try being less of a grouch, Kami! It's something you should be grateful to see!"
The brown-eyed boy chuckled. "It's refreshing to see Kami get scolded!"
*BONK!*
Asa smacked the back of the boy's head. "Don't get ahead of yourself! You're both idiots."
"Nuh-uh! I managed to find this hill! That has to give me some kind of smartness!" The brown-eyed boy yelled childishly.
Heiki exhaled, looking up at the moon. "Smartness?"
As the kids argued, Kami never took his eyes off of the night sky, wondering what it would be like to be free enough to travel such distances. What would it be like to finally leave Tokuni and the lab they were held in for most of their days?
To… be free.
XXX
[PRESENT TIME]
Nozomu, with his wings flapping mightily, broke himself out of his old memories, keeping his head high as he kept shoving Imawashiki toward the sun.
'...Maybe this will set you free… if you're still in there.'
With one great push, Nozomu tossed Imawashiki into the sun, the fiery abomination reaching out to hopefully grab the white-haired vessel, only to end up too far away.
After a few moments, Imawashiki was swallowed by the sun, falling into the center of the star, leaving Nozomu behind with nothing but his thoughts.
'...Now, I need to get back to Earth. I'm sure the war is still ongoing anyway… and I need to find Tanjo.'
Before Nozomu could turn around, a bright light flashed from the side of the sun, garnering the white-haired vessel's attention. He narrowed his eyes, gazing into the star's overwhelming light.
Slowly, but surely, Imawashiki flew out from the walls of the sun, his cloak and undershirt in pieces, most of which burned to a crisp. Due to this, his torso was exposed, revealing the red scales that continued to merge with his body. His entire right side was red, while the left side of his body was untouched by the horrific transformation.
Imawashiki's once brown eyes were now dark red, his red sideburns turning into a perpetual fire that stretched down his face.
Nozomu clenched his jaw. 'Well, now that he can withstand a star, I'm sure he could handle a lot more… If Moeru has fueled himself up enough, he could probably damage the solar system itself if he went on a rampage—perhaps more.'
Nobody truly knew the extent of a Tansu Beast's power. They were created to be the guardians of the gods, only to be eradicated before they could utilize their abilities to almost any extent. However, through what Kanden had told Nozomu and given that the Tansu Beasts were supposed to protect the gods, Moeru's, as well as the other beasts, must be limitlessly powerful by default.
'...Let's get this over with.'
XXX
And that's wraps for chapter 231! So close to seeing the results of this clash! We even got to see a little bit of backstory between the vessels! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_