A tyrant's blue eyes met a dragon's crimson eyes, and both had the same menacing glimmer. Moeru felt exceptionally liberated in his current form, finally able to let his flames go beyond the mortal coil known as Seijun Hotaru. The human brat was nothing more than a prison that limited the fire dragon's power. Moeru was able to perceive unlimited power running through his blistering scales. The gods may have fallen to Lucifer, but Moeru was not a god; he was the upgrade, a superior being, a Tansu Beast.
'There he is,' Reiwa thought to himself, a small grin on his face. 'The dragon that was made to protect the multiverse. Too bad he's the only one present.'
Reiwa brushed the suffocating presence of Moeru aside, finding the sensation of the dragon's fluctuating magic to be lavish. After all of the universe's Reiwa had entered by carelessly punching from one reality to another, not one entity had managed to harness as much power as an unrestrained Tansu Beast. The gods ensured that the beasts were stronger than them when unsealed in the event of utter chaos—unfortunately, the first group of Tansu vessels did not get the memo.
The crimson-haired tyrant twirled his green and gold staff skillfully, letting a green hue encompass the object beautifully. In response, Moeru opened his large mouth that housed hundreds of sharp teeth that dwarfed entire stars in size. In the back of the dragon's throat, a dense wall of fire swirled into existence, prepared to be discharged at any second.
'Come on, you beast. Strike me.' Reiwa thought to himself, tilting his floating body forward.
*SHRINGGG!*
In the corner of Lucifer's eyes, a large blue and white light started to expand in every direction, followed by millions of lightning bolts stretching across the vastness of space in the process. Reiwa had to move half of his translucent wings out of the way to get a good view on the sudden event. After a few moments, the glow and lightning took the shape of a winged beast, similar to Moeru in stature, differing only in color.
It was Kanden, the lightning dragon Tansu Beast. Despite being newly formed, the dragon made of lightning immediately flew his cosmic body forward, soaring toward Lucifer with determination.
'You filthy beast! Come at me!'
Enraged by the interruption, Moeru huffed and launched himself directly toward Reiwa, hoping to intercept his lightning variant of a dragon. Reiwa felt his blood pump, roused with excitement. The tyrant was between two of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, and he would enjoy every millisecond of this clash.
Simultaneously, the two dragons of contrasting colors discharged their signature elements at Lucifer, the attacks scaling to be hotter and more volatile than all of the stars in the universe. Reiwa held his staff outward, holding it horizontally as he braced himself. Hearing the dragons' cries would be more divine than the gods themselves.
*CRACK!*
Unexpectedly, Reiwa heard a sound in the vacuum of space, perplexing him. The exact instant that the fire and lightning from the two Tansu Beasts reached the tyrant, the space around them shattered, prompting their home universe to suddenly vanish from view, introducing a new and vast cosmos.
Reiwa looked around, spotting colorful nebulae in the distance.
'I've been shoved into a new universe. Finding my way back will prove to be difficult.'
The blinding light of two colossal dragons flying through space garnered Reiwa's attention once more.
'But this fight will make it all worthwhile.'
Flapping his twelve wings audaciously, Lucifer surged toward the two Tansu Beasts. With his left hand encased in red magic, Reiwa threw a punch outward at Moeru, causing a massive ring of red light to flash into the fiery dragon. Moeru's entire body rattled in pain, stunning him temporarily. Kanden, on the other hand, swooped down and trapped the tyrant in his jaws, hastily closing his mouth.
'Nice try, beast.'
Despite being bigger than multiple stars, Kanden's upper and lower jaws were held back by Reiwa, who was holding the dragon's mouth open to prevent himself from being mashed by animalistic teeth made of pure lightning. He was just a minuscule speck when even remotely close to the dragons, but packed a punch harder than the two beasts combined.
With his eyes shifting from blue to red, Reiwa unleashed a potent beam of light from his eyes that ventured deep into Kanden's mouth, instantaneously overwhelming the large beast. Kanden reactively spit Reiwa off of his jaws, shaking his head in discomfort.
'Brother, I still need you to fight him along with me.' Kanden's majestic voice suddenly rang throughout his electrical body.
Moeru, who had his eyes half-cracked open, briefly glanced at Kanden, a knowing look yielding behind his red eyes. Suddenly, springing out from the heads of the two dragons, Kaminari Nozomu and Seijun Hotaru leaped into space, their dragon wings unfurling as they charged at Reiwa with impressive speeds.
Reiwa sneered, 'Returning to battle, Containers?'
With utmost ferocity, Nozomu and Seijun threw a plethora of punches and kicks at the tyrant, each either missing or being impeded by an immovable block. As the three engaged in hand-to-hand combat, the two dragons revolved around Reiwa and their vessels, keeping their massive eyes peeled for an opening.
To Reiwa's surprise, the two vessels flung themselves at him and clung to the tyrant's armor, holding on the best they could. Afterward, Moeru and Kanden decided to steer their bodies toward Reiwa and open their mouths once again. With Reiwa needing to handle the vessels before being able to focus on the dragons, it appeared to be the perfect time to catch Lucifer off-guard. None of them could subdue Reiwa all by their lonesome. A collaborative effort was necessary.
Nozomu and Seijun widened their eyes in shock as they noticed Reiwa's armor beginning to glow four different colors, an intense amount of magic rushing throughout the tyrant's body.
'Let's see who can really outperform!' Reiwa thought to himself before unleashing the magic that was storing up inside him.
*KABOOOOOOM!*
As if he was a living bomb, Reiwa's entire form discharged a blast that completely annihilated the galaxy they were currently fighting in, also affecting neighboring galaxies as collateral.
Nozomu was caught in a daze, drifting through ravaged space. How was he still alive? Was this truly a fight that he needed to win? Was relinquishing his place in life a viable choice? Reiwa was more of a beast than the dragons. His lust for dominance was insatiable, and his power was insurmountable. The tyrant could destroy everything with relative ease. Seijun and the dragons had to view Lucifer in the same light he did.
The biggest question to date buoyed in Nozomu's mind—what had originally happened to Reiwa? Why did he vanish?
'Brother.' Kanden's mighty voice rumbled in the man's head.
The lack of oxygen was torturous to Nozomu. Not for fatal reasons, but due to the fact that he could not properly vent out his frustrations via groans or coughs.
'What now, Kanden?' Nozomu replied mentally.
'I learned of what makes the Tansu vessels stronger than the gods. I see it now.' The divine beast spoke cryptically, almost sparking a chuckle from the white-haired man.
Nozomu shook his head. 'What would that be?'
'A soul.'
The vessel's eyes glinted with confusion, looking around as if to find Kanden during the conversation.
'A soul? Elaborate.' Nozomu queried, relaxing in the void of the cosmos.
Kanden could be heard humming within the man's mind, formulating an appropriate answer. It never ceased to amaze Nozomu that a living being resided within his head.
'The gods knew that just the Tansu Beasts could not be anything new in terms of power and divinity, but if you hand them a soul to work with—that's when new possibilities arise. Gods can't improve what they don't have, but they can add to what exists.' Kanden spoke, shedding new light on the situation.
A soul was considered to be boundless, capable of stretching into the unknown. Erase the boundaries of a human's mortality and limited physical potential, and newfound powers are born. That was what made the Tansu vessels so special. That was how a human could eclipse the capabilities of a god.
'You have the potential to beat Reiwa, for he is the main example of what it means to surpass the gods. Using the Aura Amalgamation and the strength of his own soul, he managed to become a being higher than anything alive.' Kanden finished speaking in the man's mind, finally letting silence return.
Nozomu remembered a specific teenager: Tanjo and his smile. The recollection was then followed by the day Tanjo departed Buraun, determined to save Mizuki. Despite the assistance of Asami, the boy was largely alone, only carried by the support of his soul.
An arc of lightning darted past Nozomu's eyes.
XXX
Reiwa cracked his neck, surveying his surroundings with an indifferent gaze. The dragons were blown away, along with the pathetic vessels. All of the fun that the tyrant derived from his encounter with the Tansu Beasts began to dwindle rapidly, realizing that not even the strongest beings in the multiverse could withstand his potency. The explosion took no effort to create, meaning that Lucifer still had not yet been presented with the opportunity of a lengthy fight.
Slowly, the tyrant let his magic expel outward in waves, sensing for the vessels or dragons. To his dismay, Reiwa could only sense the fiery vessel, Seijun Hotaru. The vessel was hovering through space hundreds of thousands of lightyears away. The rest of Lucifer's opponents must have been turned to ash by his explosion. Reiwa fluttered his green, translucent wings and flew toward Seijun, arriving at the vessel's floating body in seconds.
'Not entirely surprised that Moeru's vessel was able to survive. That fiery beast doesn't know when to quit.' Reiwa thought to himself, peering down at the vessel with red sideburns.
Seijun gradually opened his eyes, immediately noticing the intimidating presence of Reiwa Takuetsu. The tyrant aimed two of his fingers at the fiery vessel, a red hue covering his hand. Seijun assumed that Reiwa was delivering the finishing blow, resulting in his death. It was tragic, but the fiery vessel knew that death was all he deserved. At the very least, he and Nozomu had managed to force Reiwa into a different universe.
Just as Reiwa was going to ostensibly end Seijun's life, a fist covered in lightning emerged from the depths of space, shocking Reiwa. The tyrant was unable to react as he felt a set of knuckles ram into his face, knocking him back thousands of lightyears.
Floating where Reiwa once hovered, Nozomu spared a glance at Seijun. Lightning continued to bounce around his body brilliantly, outlining his dragon-like wings that stretched out from his back.
'We're not done yet… Brother.' Nozomu spoke mentally, staring at his childhood friend.
XXX
That's it for this chapter! I'm personally loving this fight! I've thought about Reiwa for about three years now and now that I'm finally able to mold him into the novel, I have so much in store! What will happen next? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_