Chapter 23 - Release

The clone in front of me disintegrated from the energy building in my body. As the darkness cloaked my body in an ethereal armor, I noticed a blinding light was glowing from my body. Its brightness emanated outwards, illuminating the world in a deadly glow. I felt as if I had become the culmination of the greatest powers in existence. "There's a reason you were selected kid. But that reason hasn't bore its fruit yet. Don't fight back, I need to take the helm for now." Take the helm? As my body flew through the clones, effortlessly killing them by the dozens, I felt my consciousness falling into darkness. A darkness deeper than the one that trapped my princess. I flailed my mind around for anything to latch onto, to keep my consciousness active. System This kid's already gotten the sword into its first form? Impressive. I was right in my assumption that he'd be the only one capable of ending the Demon Lord. Cloating my sword in darkness, I launched myself at another group of clones, cutting through their ranks as if they were cattle. The more they fell, the more deadly I became. Not just because they bore a poor semblance to the traitor, but also because the kid kept fighting against my control. I told you I got this, kid. Fighting against me was illogical. He couldn't even defeat 5 of these clones, let alone their master. I was clearly the better warrior for this job. So why would he fight me? Cutting through dozens more of the clones, the thought continued to nag at me. I didn't even care that it was impossible. That throughout all of history and before, there was never another host capable of fighting against my control. I cared about the why. The situation had me perplexed. If I was obviously the better warrior, why would he seek control right now? He couldn't possibly think of himself as stronger than me. Didn't he want to save his people? Didn't he want to save his plane? I knew he did, so it made no sense. Why fight? It wasn't even as if I was going to control him for all of eternity. As far as systems go, I do my best to remain symbiotic. That was the key to my strength. Truthfully, it would be nothing for me to completely destroy his conscious. When forced to, I've done it before. Many times. Some vessels simply aren't compatible with the systems, especially one as prolific as mine. Briefly considering the option, I immediately pitched it. Stupid, illogical. Not only did I have little desire to do so, as he was in the boring stages of leveling up after all. He is even having trouble with these clones. I also realized I was wrong. Illogical. It would not be nothing to destroy his conscious. In fact, it would be impossible. There was something about him... something other than that blinding light. The disappearance of the steam broke me away from my thoughts. The darkness had done its job, clogging the spaces between the Leviathan's scales. My path to the Leviathan should not be interrupted now. 29 seconds left. Pitiful. To have wasted an entire second ending that threat. I've ended entire planes of reality faster. I looked down at my hands in disgust. Have I lost my touch? No, that's illogical. I'm as threatening as ever. The problem is that my vessel hasn't been this limited in a long time. I had enjoyed several eternities in my last host. But there's something else, something I can't quite figure out. 28 seconds left. Stupid, illogical!!! What use do these thoughts have? They aren't a strategy for ending the enemy, but merely a wish for answers. Useless! Tired of wasting time, I sprinted toward the Leviathan's eyes. Just for my body to hurl itself to the ground. "Damn it, kid!" Give me back my body! "You're being entirely illogical right now. You are unable to use your powers effectively, which was evident when you faced those clones. They would have killed you, kid. Now, they aren't even a thought." I don't care! Give me back my body you monster! I could already tell a discussion would go nowhere. The kid was being entirely idiotic right now. I looked around for my old acquaintance, finding him bobbling along the Leviathan's scales. Of course, he was slacking off. Stupid cat! "Hey, cat! Why don't you do your job for once, huh?" Due to the thing insects feel when threatened by power, he hurried to my location. "Ye- yes my lord! Right away, I'll tend with Miko." Grabbing his throat, I ordered him to stop playing with me. "Who? Who the hell is Miko?" Choking, his eyes appearing to pop out of his stupid demonic face, he croaked, "T-the kid, m- my lord." I sent him a disbelieving stare as I let go of his throat, allowing him to enter the system interface. From there, he would keep the kid under his guard until I completed our quest. Maybe he was telling the truth. I saw no reason for him to lie. For some reason, he called the kid 'Miko'. I'd have to wonder over the function of that later. "Make sure the kid doesn't interrupt me, or I'll be eating you." Deciding against waiting for a response I knew the cat wouldn't dare to give, I dashed toward the Leviathan's eyes again. There should be no further interruptions. As I reached its head, I took note of my interface. 25 seconds left. Already feeling the beast ready to flail his head, I let my darkness clasp around his neck, squeezing it still. I paid no mind to its painful, muffled screams as I approached its eyes. "Empathy tricks don't work on me, pal. It's illogical. I have no feelings." Turning my sword so that the blade was pointed downward, I began my attack, slashing its eye with a flurry of strikes. Judging by the spasms running down his entire body, I knew the attack worked flawlessly. Almost. I looked down as his tail slammed into the earth, creating a huge crater at least 100 meters in length. If he killed the princess, it would be hard to retain a relationship with the kid. I sent even more of the darkness out, holding his entire body in a static position. As I walked over to the beast's other eye, I began walking in a staggered manner. Dizziness? No. There's no way that this measly display of power is overwhelming this body. I take back what I said earlier kid, you simply have a long way to go. It is clear that you only got to level up the sword due to events set up solely to expedite your success. Which is good to take advantage of, but it won't change the fact that you're weak. Sighing, I took the necessary moment to steady myself before slashing apart the Leviathan's other eye. Not only would I need complete control during the attack, but I knew that once it was blind the real fight would begin. In a crazed fury, it would try its hardest to fling me off. If it failed, that would be the best-case scenario. But it's more likely that the beast would succeed, and I would need to be ready to react. At the exact moment I'm flung into the air, I would have to retract all of the darkness I placed over the beast's vast expanse and create wings for myself. Even more things the kid can't do, so why would he fight against me? I began slashing apart the Leviathan's eye with a foreign feeling. What's this? It... feels like what I've seen when a person yells at another after being wronged. What's the feeling called? My short discovery met its end as I felt the blind beast begin to tremble. Preparing to lead the darkness back into me, I readied my legs to jump. I would have to create as much distance between the Leviathan and me as possible. I felt the spasms disguised as earthquakes begin. Wait. Its arms broke free from the darkness, tearing at the beast's scales, trying to free itself from the darkness. Wait. Its entire body turned into a giant wave of trembles, rapidly increasing in strength and frequency. Almost there. Feeling the trembling crescendo, I pounced. The darkness returned to me, revitalizing my body. I quickly focused on turning that darkness into wings. As soon as they attached to my back, I turned to face the beast. Although its blindness came with a great gift, there was also a grave curse. Going berserk, I felt energy building itself in its mouth, ready to blast the plane into smithereens. Give me my body back!!! You're not harming Aruna, Roan, or anyone else! I conquered you! You stupid ass cat! Just give me a few seconds kid, please. I clutched my sword as a strange, cold feeling washed over my body. I couldn't believe what was happening. In a short span, I felt emotions twice. Worse than that, I... begged. For the first time in infinite eternities.