Kaminari Nozomu endured the familiar sensation of losing all of the oxygen in his body as he threw himself into the solar system, drastically isolating himself from Earth in order to minimize potential harm to his home planet. Despite his remote location in space, the white-haired vessel feared that even if Earth was saved, other celestial bodies would only experience their fate in its place. Nozomu's battle with Seijun on Mars demonstrated how easy it would be to destroy entire planets in seconds.
Speaking of Seijun, the fiery vessel rubbed his abdomen placatingly, forcing the stinging sensation spawned by Reiwa Takuetu's brutal punch to disappear rapidly. It was the second time Seijun had been punched off the face of the earth, and it had not felt any better.
'We've been up here for quite a while and Reiwa still hasn't come.' Nozomu thought to himself, unable to vocalize his thoughts in space.
The wielder of lightning directed his gaze toward Seijun, analyzing his childhood friend thoroughly. Seijun was clearly thinking the same thing. Did Reiwa trick them into deserting the planet? In all honesty, Nozomu thought it was abhorrently idiotic to leave without confirming that the tyrant would be in pursuit.
*SHING!*
In the distance, a shining green light could be seen glowing brighter with every passing second. Nozomu was the first to notice it, his eyes narrowing at the sight; however, Seijun's mouth gaped upon acknowledging the light. Realization was quick to dawn on both of them.
Reflexively, the two dragon vessels kicked themselves in different directions as a green and gold staff flew between them. Encompassing the staff was a green light, emanating waves of potent magic uncontrollably. The staff was poised to explode, signifying Reiwa's willingness to continue their fight.
*KABOOM!*
Though there was no wind in space, the two dragon vessels immediately felt the shockwave of the explosion, causing them to drift apart from each other for tens of thousands of kilometers. A blast like that would have easily ripped through Earth entirely.
Without any warning, Reiwa appeared directly in front of Nozomu, his right fist reeled back. If it was not for the white-haired vessel's breakneck reaction speed, the tyrant would have left prolonged damage to Nozomu's face. Although the punch missed, Reiwa's hand briefly grazed the wielder of lightning's cheek, splitting the skin like a blade.
'Shit!' Nozomu mentally swore, gritting his teeth.
Stretching his hands outward, Nozomu materialized streaks of lightning that acted like string, tossing the electricity outward at the tyrant boldly. Reiwa internally hummed as he launched himself at the lightning, opening his mouth and biting down on a streak of electricity, forcing the attack to dissipate slowly. Reiwa then utilized his hands to tear the bolts of lightning asunder, not even feeling a tickle from the extreme use of electrons.
Before Reiwa could lay a hand on Nozomu, a fist engulfed in flames swung down at the tyrant. The man known as Lucifer glimpsed at the fist in the corner of his eyes, shielding himself from the attack with his armored forearm.
'I see you, Moeru!' Reiwa thought to himself, a grin threatening to crack the tyrant's stolid visage.
Seijun's eyes were blood red, and his red sideburns morphed into flame, indicating a shift in the fiery vessel's power. Nozomu had his black lines that marked his flesh due to the undying cooperation between the vessel and the Tansu Beast—but Seijun did not have the same relationship with his monster. Moeru and his vessel constantly fought for control over their physical form, resulting in a grotesque combination of human and dragon features.
Reiwa noticed the scales growing on Seijun's right arm.
'Interesting.'
With the black lines on his body pulsing once more, Nozomu pushed himself toward Reiwa, throwing a potent punch that was charged with an immense amount of voltage. The tyrant was quick to grab Nozomu's arm with his free hand, squeezing tightly and snapping the wielder of lightning's arm.
'Too bad the vessels are quite pathetic—!' Reiwa spoke within his mind only to have his thoughts cut short.
Both of the dragon vessels clenched their free hands and threw two punches simultaneously, both of the fists flaring with intense magic. They were beginning to demonstrate an influx of power, becoming more formidable as the battle continued.
*FWISHH!*
Unexpectedly, an abundance of green, translucent wings sprouted from Reiwa's armored back, successfully deflecting the two fist strikes. The tyrant let go of Nozomu's arm as his wings pushed him and Seijun back, establishing a significant distance between the three of them. When the green wings entirely emerged from Reiwa's back, it became evident that the crimson-haired tyrant had twelve wings, each of which was completely unfurled.
Seijun visibly blanched at the sight. 'Now that's fucking excessive!'
Reiwa extended his right hand upward, the green and gold staff from before suddenly returning from afar. It was obvious that Lucifer was holding back greatly, having a myriad of powers and techniques stowed away. Nozomu and Seijun had to force themselves to match the tyrant's might to the best of their abilities.
A hint of curiosity was etched onto Reiwa's face as he lifted his left arm, opening his hand. The dragon vessels watched in extreme shock as the crimson-haired tyrant proceeded to conjure a Genso-Kyu with the four Aura Senses. It was not the combination of magic that bewildered Nozomu and Seijun—it was the size of the Genso-Kyu. With every second that Reiwa poured magic into the sphere, it grew to impressive lengths. Nozomu was the first between the two vessels to fly backward, separating himself from the Genso-Kyu. Seijun was smart enough to do the same, flapping his heavy wings to retreat.
Eventually, the Genso-Kyu eclipsed the size of all of the planets in the solar system combined. Reiwa thought it was a little too small, so he pushed the multi-colored Genso-Kyu deep into space, watching it exit the invisible boundaries of the solar system at remarkable speeds. Once it was far away enough, the sphere continued to grow.
Reiwa's gaze returned to the two vessels floating on his left and right.
'If they won't give me the satisfaction of becoming stronger faster, then I'll have to force it.'
Mightily, Reiwa flapped his twelve wings and soared toward Seijun, appearing before the fiery vessel in the blink of an eye. The tyrant attempted to grab Seijun's face, only for his hand to phase through the vessel's head. It appeared that he prepared to shift into fire in the predicament that Reiwa would charge at him.
Seijun hurriedly crossed his arms outward and stationed his hands on both sides of Reiwa's neck, preparing to slice his head clean off. Lucifer waited for the dragon vessel to move his hands toward his neck before grabbing one of them with his left hand, ensuring that Seijun was not able to morph into fire. To further facilitate Seijun's tangibility, Reiwa overwhelmed the fiery vessel with an insurmountable amount of magic, reverting Seijun to his typical form instantaneously and permanently.
'I hate this guy!' Seijun hollered within the depths of his mind, recoiling in pain as Reiwa seized him.
Reiwa tilted his body upward as he flew toward his massive Genso-Kyu, pulling Seijun along with him. Nozomu narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he quickly followed the two, traveling much faster than light to keep up.
It did not take long for Reiwa to reach the Genso-Kyu he previously conjured, completely departing from their solar system. At this point in time, the Genso-Kyu created with Reiwa's Aura Amalgamation had grown to a size that was equal to multiple stars. Seijun had to force his eyes to acclimate to the blinding light that the Genso-Kyu emitted, blinking repeatedly. Seijun had expected the colossal sphere to be bright, but what the vessel did not expect was to be thrown directly into it. Seijun's entire body was swallowed by the Genso-Kyu the instant he made contact with it.
Nozomu tried flying toward the Genso-Kyu to extract his childhood friend, only to be too late.
*KABOOOOOOOM!*
The Genso-Kyu spontaneously exploded, forcing Nozomu to erect a blue barrier and shield himself from the shockwaves. Shimmering light filled the empty vacuum known as space brilliantly; the explosion was easily noticeable from Earth. Reiwa inhaled the aftermath of the explosion, light and mist flowing into his nostrils.
'Nice to meet you again… Moeru.' The tyrant thought to himself, his eyes glinting with amusement.
Emerging from the explosion, a red and orange beast flapped its incredible wings, dispersing the dying light and mist. It was the physical form of Moeru, the dragon Tansu Beast made of fire. Moeru was slightly bigger than Reiwa's Genso-Kyu, stunning Nozomu, who was watching from behind his blue barrier.
'Brother, he's loose.' Kanden spoke within Nozomu's mind, observing through his vessel's eyes.
Moeru huffed, releasing smoke from his impeccable jaws that could tear through anything. The dragon radiated unparalleled potent magic—the only beings alive to match it being Reiwa Takuetsu and Kaminari Nozomu. Moeru's hateful gaze locked onto the crimson-haired Lucifer, the flames that formed the dragon's physical form flaring venomously.
Reiwa wore a faint grin on his face, clutching his green and gold staff securely. Never before has the tyrant seen Moeru in such a large state. Previously, when Reiwa took over all of the lands, he fought all of the Tansu Beasts at once; nevertheless, they were significantly mild and reduced in size. Moeru's previous dragon form was only the size of a few villages, similar to the other Tansu Beasts present at the time.
'We can't let Moeru take on Reiwa, Brother.' Kanden's majestic voice resonated in Nozomu's mind once again.
Nozomu closed his eyes, letting his blue barrier dissipate into nothing. An idea crawled its way to the front of the white-haired man's brain.
'Kanden, are you willing to be really big, too?'
XXX
And that's the end of this chapter! I wish I could let them talk, but Reiwa, Seijun, and Nozomu are all too strong to be confined inside a planet, and I chose to stick to the fact that there is no sound in space. I almost let there be sound, but ultimately decided against it. But, worry not—I'll have a reason to circumvent the issue in future fights. Obviously, the stronger characters need a battlefield bigger than just a planet. Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_