The air was uncomfortably warm. The rapid pounding of millions of hearts, the dropping of millions of weapons onto the dirt, and the intense fear of millions of warriors were palpable. The entire battlefield's temperature surged up almost a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, making each and every soldier present sweat anxiously.
The Detrimental War was not anticipated to go this far. Nothing remotely close. It was a nightmare which carved its way into reality. The personification of disaster appears to exhibit itself brazenly. It has been decades since the world has felt such fear. It was more than just a case of Armageddon.
It was Reiwa Takuetsu.
The Tyrannical King, some would shout. Crimson Messiah for others. However, among many of his names, Reiwa was, by far, mostly known as Lucifer. The moniker was not to be taken lightly, as he had been known to cause incomprehensibly catastrophic events all by his lonesome.
The crimson-haired ruler analyzed the space around him, eyeing the millions of armored warriors that trembled beneath his gaze. They knew that not even their combined efforts would be enough to be threatening.
Suddenly, Reiwa stretched his right arm into the air, a hint of magic flourishing through his limb.
Far away, across the nation of Adonai, beneath the forest of Motsureta, lay an underground facility—the same facility that existed beneath the Takuetsu compound many decades before. Within the facility, a green and golden staff rested comfortably on a countertop. After a few moments, the staff started vibrating wildly, rattling against the surface. Without warning, the staff shot up—*CRASH!*—and smashed through the underground facility's ceiling, escaping into the world above.
The staff, after flying over the land of Adonai at an impressive speed, eventually found itself soaring into the right hand of Reiwa Takuetsu, resulting in the red-haired man gripping it tightly and slamming it down onto the charred ground below him.
He had summoned his weapon from afar, alerting every warrior in the vicinity
"Retreat! Retreat!" A leader of his splatoon commanded, sprinting in the opposite direction.
It merely took a second for each troop to begin fleeing for their life, abandoning their dignity and pride. Reiwa hummed disapprovingly as he twirled his gold and green staff and sent it outward. The staff, which was encompassed by a green glow, tore through each soldier in its path, ripping through the two armies of Adonai and Shanti with ease. The staff flew in all directions around Reiwa, slaughtering the majority of the living beings trying to escape.
Without moving a muscle, Reiwa had successfully annihilated thousands, his staff still shredding through warriors.
*CLINK!*
A strong hand clamped itself around the staff, halting it in its tracks. Lightning danced off of the hand dangerously.
"I can already tell this is going to be rough."
Kaminari Nozomu, holding the staff in place, grit his teeth as he saw the sheer amount of bodies surrounding him. Half of the warriors originated from Adonai while others were from Shanti. Behind Nozomu was none other than Seijun Hotaru, the vessel of Moeru. Gone was the name Imawashiki.
Seijun huffed and said, "Yeah, apparently this is all my fault, too. I'm not surprised."
The two dragon vessels stared at the infamous Reiwa Takuetsu begrudgingly, mentally unprepared to battle the biggest catalyst of chaos of a human being to ever exist.
Reiwa narrowed his blue eyes. He recognized their presence—he has felt it before.
"The Tansu filth." The tyrant spat, glowering at the dragon vessels.
Seijun grumbled. Reiwa's knowledge of their Tansu background was not a positive sign. They had already arrived with unpleasant chemistry. Seijun still had little to no control over Moeru, which made the impending fight much more hazardous. Many years ago, when Reiwa first walked on Earth and had slain every god, the previous vessels of the Tansu Beasts battled him, which ultimately led them to their demise. Fortunately, the conflict resulted in Reiwa's strange disappearance; unfortunately, the red-haired tyrant had survived the clash, as was now clearly evident.
How strong were the previous Tansu vessels? Nobody truly knew. But, Nozomu and Seijun had no choice but to hope that they weren't any stronger than the current vessels. Nozomu was in dire need of a cold beverage.
"Shit—!" Nozomu gasped, feeling the gold and green staff slip out of his grasp.
Reiwa caught the staff once more, pressing it into the earth.
"Let me clear the field like old times." Reiwa declared, raising his left hand.
The tyrant's index finger and thumb were pressed together, intending to snap. Potent magic swelled within his fingers, quickly proving to be devastating.
*SNAP!*
*KABOOM!*
Nozomu was forced to rapidly increase the speed of his awareness as he watched a massive explosion of red light be expelled from Reiwa's snap in every direction. The lethal wave of red magic traveled outward at a rate double the speed of light, forcing Nozomu to act quickly.
'Too many people to just let die…' Nozomu thought to himself, clenching his jaw.
There were millions of humans in the area, and there was next to no time at all to save them all in a three-hundred and sixty-degree radius around Reiwa, who stood in the middle of the battlefield. Lightning bounced off of Nozomu's body as he greatly expedited his own speed, instantly pushing himself off the ground and racing toward the closest warrior, regardless if they were from Adonai or Shanti.
Nozomu hurriedly raced all throughout the entire battlefield, grabbing several warriors—up to five or six—by shooting out lightning that acted as rope, pulling them several thousand kilometers away before returning to grab even more.
Seijun, on the other hand, was able to face the full force of the massive attack. He would have been lying if he said it did not sting a little. This was merely one of Reiwa's mild attacks, yet it was powerful enough to leave a lasting impression on a Tansu vessel. It was frightening.
Fortunately, Nozomu had successfully plucked the last warrior from the battlefield, outrunning the wave of magic that would have undeniably incinerated every living thing in its path.
Nozomu dashed back to Seijun, his lightning still cackling. "Even though I moved them far away, we'll still need to contain him. He'll probably pull another stunt, knowing his track record."
Neither of the dragon vessels were well versed in the realm of history, but Reiwa Takuetsu was not a speck of dust to be lost in time.
"You're faster than before." Reiwa spoke loudly, clenching his left hand. "Leave it to the gods to rely on human genetics."
Seijun assumed a fighting position—*FWOOSH!*—as fire started to coat his arms.
"At least he said we're stronger than the previous vessels!" Seijun commented, his brown eyes glued to the tyrant.
"I'm getting the hint that it doesn't matter to him." Nozomu stated.
The three stood still for a prolonged period, waiting for each other to make an initial move. Immediately, Reiwa grew bored of the stand-off, huffing with vexation. He leaned forward slightly, instilling Nozomu and Seijun with anxiety.
"Don't make this quick."
*WHOOSH!*
Even with his enhanced rate of comprehension, Nozomu had very little time to process that Reiwa had suddenly appeared inches in front of him. The end of the tyrant's staff found itself lodged in the white-haired vessel's gut, sending a shockwave of pain through Nozomu's body.
"Gragh!" Nozomu spat blood, flying backward through the air violently.
Seijun could only watch as Nozomu was launched far away, his eyes broadening in shock. Reiwa spared a brief glance at the other dragon vessel before dashing toward him as well. Seijun instantaneously felt his head smash against the ground—*CRACK!*—as a massive crater formed on the battlefield as a result.
"I guess I was wrong: neither of you have grown a bit. Feeble dragons." Reiwa muttered, clutching the vessel of Moeru's head tightly against the ground.
*FWOOSH!*
Reiwa's grip on Seijun's head slipped as the dragon vessel's head morphed into fire, enabling Seijun to lift himself up and ram his right fist into the crimson-haired tyrant's armored waist.
*CLANK!*
*WHOOOSH!*
The sheer ferocity of Seijun's punch leveled the battlefield to an even greater extent, lifting entire chunks of land out of the earth as a result of collateral damage. Seijun was holding back greatly due to the fact that Earth needed to remain intact for everyone on it to survive, but he had to utilize just enough strength to subdue Reiwa Takuetsu permanently.
"How tragic." Reiwa's voice rang through Seijun's ears horrifically, the dust particles floating in the air beginning to clear.
Despite the immense strength Seijun's punch harbored, Reiwa had remained completely unharmed. Even his bulky armor was free of any dents or scratches.
"Still too insignificant to stop anything."
*SHINK!*
Blood flew in every direction as Reiwa sank the end of the gold and green staff into Seijun's heart, moving faster than the vessel's ability to shift into intangible fire.
"D-damn it!" Seijun cussed, clenching the staff.
Reiwa scoffed. "Move an inch and it'll be the last thing you do. Your fire can't save you."
*SPLASH!*
Blocking out the sky was a massive serpent made entirely out of water, garnering Reiwa's undivided attention. The serpent charged downward toward the tyrant, baring its fangs murderously. A glint of familiarity flashed through Reiwa's eyes as he watched the giant beast grow closer.
"Suijin. You damned serpent." Reiwa grumbled, recognizing the new opponent.
The water serpent suddenly froze, stopped by a blue barrier that was erected by the crimson-haired tyrant.
"Reiwa!" A feminine voice shouted, sounding guttural.
Emerging from the top of the water serpent, Asami glowered at the tyrant indignantly. Her blue hair swayed in the wind as she gritted her teeth together, her heart pounding rapidly.
"I never thought I'd get the chance to meet you, but I knew that if I did, I'd kill you a thousand times over for ruining my life!" Asami screamed.
*SPLISH!*
Several tendrils of water sprouted from the scorched dirt, darting dangerously toward Reiwa. Similar to the water serpent, the tendrils were unable to reach the crimson-haired tyrant due to magical barriers materializing in the space between them. No matter how much she screamed or how hard she pressured the barriers, Asami was unsuccessful.
*SWISH!*
A barrage of wind unexpectedly appeared, forcing Reiwa to create even more floating barricades.
"Don't let up, Asami!" Heiki Shototsu hollered, his arms stretched outward as he discharged intense winds.
Reiwa found the abrupt cooperation of Tansu vessels amusing, reminding him of the last time he was on the planet.
"The previous beasts tried this before. Withering skeletons is all they managed to turn into." The tyrant mocked, enjoying the futile efforts of his new opponents.
*CRUMBLE!*
Yet another force had started to pressure Reiwa as multiple stone spikes and pillars formed and crashed into the tyrant's barriers from his right. It was Reberu Manabu.
"Drop the barriers!" The principal of Buraunmajikku demanded hoarsely.
Still pressed into the ground at Reiwa's feet, Seijun looked around painfully, spotting his former childhood friends. They all looked so mature, grown, and experienced. Eventually, he stopped to look at Asami, becoming immediately stunned by her growth.
"...Reiwa." Seijun choked out, grinning.
The crimson-haired tyrant glimpsed downward at the dragon vessel. Truthfully, Reiwa was perplexed as to why Seijun was smiling, especially when a staff was lodged in his heart.
"...You're barriers." The brown-eyed vessel coughed.
*CACKLE!*
In the corner of Reiwa's eyes, he spotted Nozomu falling from the sky, both of his hands raised over his head, lightning dancing all over his form. With utmost force, Nozomu slammed both of his fists into Reiwa's blue barriers—*CRACK!*—causing them to shatter at that moment.
"...Dumbass!" Seijun laughed, pointing both of his palms at the tyrant.
*FWOOSH!*
Simultaneously, each Tansu Beast struck Reiwa with their unique element, causing an explosion visible from beyond Earth's atmosphere. None of them may have been striking down with everything they had, seeking to save the earth as much as possible, but the raw force on display was daunting. No warrior in history has ever matched the raw power that the present Tansu vessels currently delivered.
No warrior in history would survive, except for Reiwa Takuetsu.
*FLICK!*
With the flick of his fingers, emitting potent rays of magic light in every direction, Reiwa managed to subdue each of the Tansu vessels' attacks. Manabu's stone spikes and pillars were sliced through, Asami's water evaporated, Shototsu's wind dispersed, Nozomu's lightning dissipated, and Seijun's fire was promptly extinguished.
Once again, Reiwa was unscathed.
"Interesting. From what I've seen, only two of you filthy beasts have managed to evolve." Reiwa's voice echoed through the ravaged battlefield.
The tyrant redirected his gaze at the two dragon vessels: Kaminari Nozomu and Seijun Hotaru. The two vessels were recollecting their equilibrium, glaring at Reiwa with ire.
The crimson-haired tyrant yanked his staff out of Seijun's heart, kicking the brown-eyed vessel away.
"I want to see how much further you can be pushed."
XXX
And that's officially the return of Reiwa Takuetsu! Sure, he returned before Tanjo and Yuso's big fight, but remember that all of these fights between the many characters in this novel are happening simultaneously! That's how I can write one fight without having to interrupt it too much with another character's battle. For about two and a half, maybe three years, I have envisioned Reiwa's return. Hell, this entire war arc of the novel I have planned for about three years! I'm so glad to finally type it all out! Also, if you're wondering about Seijun's control over Moeru, keep reading! Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_