Ragnarok

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Genzai saw the Vanguards walk in one by one, starting with Aaron. "It appears you knew we were talking about you." he said, smiling faintly, seeing his friend once more, this time with more than himself. Next was Sandra...who Quillan would be all over in a matter of moments, Genzai could just see it.

 

Next was a true honor...Vanguard of Zeus: Jovan. The Shinto Vanguard heard about how rarely he would be brought into battle...but at the same time...how amazing his battle skills were. Truly it was an honor for the Spearheads to be in the presence of Zeus' Vanguard. Next was Tyrone...and for some reason, Genzai also found a lot of himself within the man. "I see. With no choice left, involvement would've been inevitable." he said, nodding as Tyr's Vanguard spoke. To be honest, it scared Genzai to find someone that acted so much like him...understanding a bit why Quillan got tired with him much.

Finally...Clair walked in. It made Genzai smile a bit, seeing their old comrade walk in through the door, as the new group stood together. "Well Leon...it seems we're not acting alone no longer..."

[Kyng's Old Account]

Leon chuckled and smirked as he glanced over to the Vanguards entering one by one, but among them was one whom would, finally, prove incredible prowess. Clair had finally returned to the Spearheads and was doing so with the talent that Athena had hard instilled into her. Athena, Goddess of Military Tactic, would shine brilliantly through Clair. The mere presence, albeit sheeply, of the former ally alone was enough to give a great sensation of hope for the goal ahead. "Well would you look at that indeed." spoke the leader of the group, cuddling Nailah as he watched Clair enter the room. "We were just planning on how to defeat the Ragnarok Vanguards. Want to show off your guile?"

 

Clair slowly nodded, before frowning with authority as she glanced to the others. "It is more than common knowledge about the Ragnarok Vanguards. We've been fighting them all over. Unfortunately, Kari is not the most worrying threat; but I am aware that we will be laying siege on a Ragnarok hold that will be supervised by the Vanguards which you have already spoken of, as well as the Vanguard of Set." With this she smirked as she gave the squad a big "However" with a chuckle, to which sparked Jovan to laugh; naturally a confusion may have wafted over the room. Clair, however, continued with pride as she said "We're also aware that the construct they'll reside in will not be fortified as much as one'd like. There's going to be a large clash with two legions waging battle against each other with them watching overhead; they will be fairly unprotected, meaning we'll be confronting them either in instances, or, the more likelier option, a large instance involving the entirety of them against us."

 

Clair laughed quite lady-like with this. "We'll outnumber them at any cross. We have got this." Naturally this riled up Jovan as he punched the air with thunderous force. "Huzzah! A victory for the alliance!" while wrapping his other arm around Man's shoulder. Spirits were getting high as the winter winds of Fimbulwinter raged on, yet the warmth kindling in the hearts of justice was certainly staying the wicked winds of the cold away. Sandra squeezed Quillan's hand with a teasing wink as she whispered sweet nothings into his ear so as to further heat his spirits, per say; but what made the situation most homely was that Aaron then made a brief statement: he'd gotten some snacks and drinks to keep them going, and with that servants began to roll a cart in, warm wraps of many assortments and hot drinks to keep spirits warm and high.

 

As soon as the last snowflake would fall, the end times would officially begin. The sun and moon would vanish from the sky, only the deep cosmos keeping the sky company. The earth would prevail however, and would last 'til the last fighter would fall, and the new world would be reborn. The Alliance now needed to secure the rebirth of the new world, and prevent Ragnarok from rendering all to nothing but ash...

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Genzai was amazed...these Vanguards began to plan themselves accordingly, bringing forth a sort of comfort to the Spearheads. Aaron...because he brought these new Vanguards to them, things began looking up. Not only this...but now a flame was lit up within Genzai's soul...one that had been blown out by the Fimbulwinter. He ate what the carts had on them, as he stood away from the group...and before they said anything...he gave them a thumbs up, with a smile.

 

TTGL OST ~ Ten wo Tsuke

 

"Arigoto, Aaron...once again, you've brought my spirits up...and ignited the flame in my soul." Genzai said, as headed towards the door. "If the end truly is nearing...then the Shinto God of the Seas' Vanguard needs to up his game. I plan on training until I have perfected every technique I possess. You may join me if you wish...but I plan on giving Ragnarok hell!" With that, he ran out of the room, smirking widely as he headed to the training hall. A new vigor ran through the Shinto Vanguard's vein's...as he felt now that this group could accomplish even more than they had in the past.

 

I mustn't let the Spearheads...the other Vanguards...and the Gods down. I am Hatsune Genzai, Shinto Vanguard...I SHALL NOT FAIL!! he thought, smiling even wider.

[Kyng]

Chapter 9 - The Eye of the Storm

A legion of warriors, clad in the armour of Ragnarok and the Alliance alike, stood strong against each other against the Ragnarok Hold Clair had described. The entirety of the battlefield was lit up not by sunlight, or moonlight - both had perished in the final winter. Now the world was lit up by the heavens alone, and the blazing light of fires that raged. The outside of this hold was nothing but depicted in red. Athena and Clair held this enormous conflict outside with ease, though they were fighting Ares himself - the sheer fury of these siblings lead this conflict to endure and prolong itself. Men, beast, all were dying out there in this enormous struggle between who would be the last man standing.
 
This would all be visible for the troop of Man, Jovan, Tyrone, Aaron, Quillan, Nailah, Genzai and Leon. Gazing through the windows of the hold, Leon sighed. "Everyone there is driven mad by war-mongering - no single one of them is going to survive." He stated, before looking back to the troop. "Our objective is simple - we're here to kill each and every single Vanguard of Ragnarok possible." With this Leon looked around the dimly lit hallway. "Kari knows we're here - he contacted me before this siege. He told me that the fortress itself would remain unguarded, sans the Ragnarok Vanguards of course. He says he wants to make a game of this conflict - a sick, twisted game of blood and tears - so we'll give him exactly what he wants."
 
Aaron chuckled softly before looking to the rest. "Guys, don't get unnerved. We need to keep our calm in situations like this. We're faced with, what, a last man standing death match? That should be easy enough."
 
Nodding softly, Leon looked to the Light-Bringer. "Pretty much, yep. That is exactly what we're dealing with here." With that said he squeezed his spear tightly in his grasp. "We're moving as a unit. I want to overwhelm them, which we can do as a bigger force. Do not let them draw you from the squad, understand?" After receiving a form of confirmation from the squad Leon would order them to follow him as they all made their way to what appeared to be an enormous chamber, where they would meet the people promised to see them there, and a few others - Vlad and Eryn stood there in the arena-like room, standing alongside a few others: recognizable was Seth, Set's Vanguard, and Xiphos, of Ares. The others, Enyo's, Apep's and Zherneboh's went nameless though all of them stood on the seating, standing above them the master of deception - Kari Bodolf, the Vanguard of Loki.
 
"I'm so pleased you all could make it." Kari snickered, leading to Leon snarling at the trickster. "Let's not delay - the end of the world won't wait for us now, will it?" Kari snickered as the Ragnarok Vanguards immediately made their way down to engage with the Vanguards of the Alliance. The numbers unfortunately lead to pairings off - most notably of this was Eryn being paired off with Genzai, Quillan with Vlad, Xiphos with Man, Seth with Nailah, and Kari with Leon. This immediately had screwed up the battle-plan, as with each Vanguard of Ragnarok engaging one specific Vanguard of the Alliance, it was difficult to shift into a large team fight.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Bloody Roar 2 OST ~ Jenny the Bat's Theme

 

Eryn...I was afraid of this... Genzai thought as he drew Kusanagi, as he skidded to a halt, with Quillan. A deep exhale came from the Shinto Vanguard, as he looked at Quillan. "Follow my lead...and do not fall for her as her other opponents have."

 

"So your Aaron's little friends? Adorable...hopefully I'll get some enjoyment out of this fight...I did hope Aaron would be my dance partner~" Eryn smirked in a seductive way, as if to lure the two into her trap.

Genzai raised Kusanagi and had his eyes narrow at Eryn and smirked slightly. "Ryujin Kenbu - 7th Offensive Form!!" he said, as he summoned a tidal wave from slashing upwards, as it rushed towards Eris' Vanguard. From the tidal wave, she saw the Shinto Vanguard yelling as he inched closer to her.

 

"As I expected...not so bright~" Eryn sighed, as she snapped her fingers at the tidal wave, watching it explode from her chaotic energy. But...Genzai was not seen. "What?!"

 

"AME NO KAGE!!!" a voice from behind Eryn yelled as she turned around to barely dodge Kusanagi, from Genzai's strike. "Sorry, but your looks won't affect me...so you'll lose this fight!"

 

Eryn backflipped a bit and smirked wider, as she started holding her arms up against her chest. "My, my, my~ It seems I underestimated you, water boy~ But...what about your friend over there?~" she asked, as she looked over at Quillan, winking at him.

[Ren✧]

Quillan listened intently at Leon's words. While out of character, it was no surprise that even Quillan would take this battle seriously. It wasn't like they were facing off against a legion of monsters or some half-assed trained soldiers. The Vanguards of the Alliance would be going toe-to-toe with the Vanguards of Ragnarok. The outcome of this fight would no doubt determine the way the rest of the war went. If a highly successful team, like the Spearheads, were to be broken apart due to injury or worse, the forces of the Alliance would be greatly crippled. Quillan couldn't allow such a thing. And as such, his normal happy-go-lucky demeanor had disappeared. It was strictly business. There were greater things at stake. As the thought went through Quillan's mind, he looked over at Sandra. The Vanguard of Aphrodite had been assigned to tag along on the mission, as they needed every able bodied Vanguard to help overwhelm the forces of Ragnarok, but it had been against Quillan's protests. Sandra was the first person that Quillan had connected with, and even though he would never admit it, the ideas of the 'L' word passing his lips had crossed his minds more than once. The thought of losing her to the hands of Ragnarok was unbearable. 

 

"Let's get started." Quillan said, after receiving the orders from Leon. He flashed Sandra a reassuring smile, and she in turn replied with her own brilliant charm. Quillan turned to Man, who stood beside him. "If something happens to me, can you give Sandra this?" He asked, handing the brutish warrior a rolled up piece of paper. The half-naked warrior nodded, knowing that Quillan wouldn't just ask for such favors arbitrarily. "I do as asked. But you try to come back. Promise Man." Man commanded, looking at his best friend with the greatest bit of concern. "I promise." Quillan said, placing his hand on Man's bare shoulder as the two shared a pair of weak smiles. They both knew what was at stake. 

 

[hr]

 

Quillan cursed as the legion of Alliance Vanguards stormed into the strong hold, having met no real resistance on the outside. He should have known that they would have all been waiting to take the unit on. The Vanguards of Ragnarok stood around the arena sized sparring area, smug looks etched upon their faces. Was it a requirement to look like a douche-bag to be evil? 

 

"I'm so pleased you all could make it. Let's not delay - the end of the world won't wait for us now, will it?" Kari snickered, declaring battle between the two groups. Quillan gave Sandra a final look of caution before rushing to Genzai's side as he requested assistance to combat a particularly beautiful looking assailant. Genzai quickly opened with a powerful attack, launching a vicious tidal wave at the intimidatingly gorgeous opponent. However, as the torrential assault neared impact the chaotic sorceress snapped her fingers and the wave exploded into nothingness. However, it seemed that Genzai had used the wave as a distraction to come at the witch from behind. Barely dodging the vicious fang of Kusanagi, Eryn turned her attention away from Genzai and set her sights on Quillan.

 

"My, my, my~ It seems that I underestimated you, water boy~ But...what about your friend over there?~" As Eryn set her siren-like magic on Quillan he immediately felt a haze come over his mind. He became captivated by the elegant face that stood before him. His eyes traced the gentle curves of her body. What was Quillan doing here anyway? The gods had taken away his memories, forced him to fight in a war that wasn't even his? What allegiance did he have to the Alliance? 

 

Quillan's hands crackled with electricity, as he took aim not at Eryn, but at Genzai. "It seems that my tricks were just fine on your handsome friend~" Eryn stated, her sing-song voice full of smug pleasure. Quillan prepared to fire, but stole one last look at Eryn and as he gazed into her eyes he saw something flicker. Suddenly, he wasn't seeing the perfect smile of a goddess-like figure. Instead, he saw behind the facade. He saw the ugliness and despair that set rooted in the depths of the Vanguard of Discord. He saw the essence of chaos.

 

No longer entranced by her magic, Quillan shook the haze from his mind. "Too bad for you, I'm already spoken for, b*tch!" Quillan fired the lightning bolt at Eryn, preparing to following up with a round of super heated air, but before he could do such a thing, he felt something cold wrap around his wrists, and send his shot harmlessly careening into a nearby wall. Spinning to see his assailant, Quillan saw the sight of a particularly imposing villain. 

 

The man stood fully erect, his height reaching a good deal passed six foot. In his left hand he held a black staff, adorned with a black diamond. Dark images seemed to shift about the diamond, matching his robes that seemed to be made out of the shadows themselves. Sights of vicious faces and mangled bodies danced upon the ebony threads, making Quillan both nauseous and apprehensive just looking at the man. His stark white hair hung past his shoulders, stopping just wear his lower abdomen would begin. A collection of supersized, multi-colored eyes hovered about the dark figure and all of them were trained on the now still form that was Quillan. The man's right hand sat outstretched, a band of dark energy that could only be described as a solid shadow protruding from it. It was the same shadow that now restrained Quillan's arms. This figure could only be Vlad, more commonly referred to as 'It'. 

 

"You are the Grecian Vanguard of the East Wind, yes?" Vlad inquired, his voice completely flat. Quillan struggled against the shadowy bond while replying "Damn right, now would you let me go. I'm a little busy." Quillan quickly looked to Genzai, making sure that Eryn hadn't pulled any tricks while he was incapacitated, and luckily it seemed that the Shinto Vanguard was just fine. "I'm afraid not. You see, I need some information from you. Where is the Vanguard they call Clair?" Vlad asked, his emotionless voice cutting through the backdrop noise of battle. "Go f*ck yourself with a cactus." Quillan retorted, obviously disgusted with the notion of betraying one of his allies. "I would say that would be most unpleasant. Now again, where is Clair? If you tell me, I will kill you quickly." Vlad said the last part almost as if it were to be an enticing gesture. "Like I said before, buddy. With a cactus." At this point, Quillan knew that struggling against the bonds was useless, but something else was at work as well. The shadowy chains seemed to be blocking off his contact with either of his units and he hadn't been able to use any of his control of the wind or lightning to free himself. What was worse, was that since he had been trapped in the bonds, a deep sense of fear had begun to rise in his chest. Vlad sighed. "There are easier ways to get you to talk then." From the folds of his robes, he produced a number of what looked to be syringes filled with a vile green fluid. In a fluid movement, he sent the projectiles careening towards the defenseless Quillan. 

 

Choop! The sharp hiss of a metal bolt rang through the air as it not only crashed through all three air-borne syringes, but also through the shadowy tendril that had held Quillan in place. Quillan looked to his savior and saw that it was none other than Sandra, sporting an interesting weapon that looked like a cross between a crossbow and a pistol. "A little gift from my patron's son." She said, as she walked over to Quillan. "Now, you handle this guy. I'll make sure that Genzai doesn't fall into any of that b*tches traps." Quillan thanked her for her assistance and then turned his attention to the obviously surprised warlock. "So tell me again, how were you going to get me to talk?" 

[Hotaru987]

'So much for that plan' Nailah thought the moment the were forced into one-on-one battles with the enemy Vanguard. Though she should have known something like staying as a group would have been difficult. Especially with their opponent being someone as crafty as Kari. Though she was prepared for an eventual separation, she hadn't thought it would come about so quickly.

 

"Time to get out of your head, darlin'." In front of her stood the vanguard of Set; Seth. He stood, laid back and a cool smirk on his face. "It's almost funny that you would be my opponent. Don't you think, darlin'."

 

"Yeah, funny." Nailah frowned, removing her mask. One of the stories as to how Thoth came to be, was that he was born from the mind of Set. Another said that he was fathered through the homosexual relations of Set and Horus. "And the name is Nailah."

 

He placed a hand over his heart, wincing in mock pain, "Aw, come on, darlin'. We're practically siblings here."

 

"Well then, I'm about to become an only child." She ran in, leaping into the and bring her Was down onto his head. Seth just smirked wider, not phased at all. Moments before she made contact, a wall of sand shielded him. "Come on darlin', I would have hoped your were smarter than this." The sand moved, wrapping around her arms and legs, tossing her away. Nailah managed to twist herself in the air, and land on her feet. 

 

"Of course." Set is the god of desert, and storms. So what would be the best way to defeat his vanguard? Her deliberations were put on hold, as she had to avoid sand spikes that were launched at her. The spikes dispersed into a cloud of sand and continued it's pursuit. "Suarafa." A barrier blocked the sand from the front. However she wasn't expecting, two segments of the sand breaking off and moving around the shield. An Egyptian curse fell from her lips as she hastily used her Was to block. The force sent her flying back, and closer to Seth. Her staff was also sent soaring away from her.

 

Seth, walked closer shaking his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... I thought you were smarter than this. You should have seen that coming." He tilted his head to the side, now standing directly over Nailah. "Hey, you alive?" Nailah didn't move, her eyes closed. "I didn't hit you that hard." He squatted down and poked Nailah's cheek. "Yo, wake up. Geeze, women are so fragile." He mumbled scratching the back of his head and looking at the other fights.

 

"-And you should have seen this coming. Lama'ah!" Seth eye's widened and he looked back at Nailah, who had her hands pointed towards his midsection. The heat collected in her hands and expanded outwards. Quick reflexes saved Seth from a hole in his stomach. A fragile sand coccoon surrounded him, taking the brunt of the damage, but when it vanished his midsection was slightly smoking and his face twitched in either pain or annoyance. She couldn't tell.

 

"W-well...You little sneak..." He stood up straight, the sand gathering around him forming condensed orbs. "Though, I guess I'm glad you didn't arm for my face. Gotta look pretty for the ladies." He smirked, and winked, "Ain't that right darlin'?"

 

Nailah stood back up, her hands sizzling as well from using them as a catalyst for her Lama'ah attack. Upon hearing his statement she wanted to face palm. While she admits aiming for his face would have been a waste of eye candy, Seth was a little...Well...Weird. "Please, don't say that again, and get ready for round two."

[Ren✧]

Man charged fearlessly with his comrades into battle, keeping a watchful eye on Sandra as he had promised Quillan, but he was also sure to watch the Vanguard of the East Wind. Quillan was his best friend, and he wasn't about to let him die. The group of Vanguards was quickly split apart as a group of enemy Vanguards engaged them. Man was able to give Quillan a fleeting glance before he was nearly impaled with a massive sword. Thinking quickly, Man caught the sword by the flat of the blad between his two palms. Facing him was a warrior garbed in black and red war armor. "I am the champion of Ares, Xiphos. You shall be my next victim." The warrior's voice resonated powerfully, causing a worm of fear to creep into Man's gut. He had never gone into battle thinking he would lose, but there was something about Xiphos' demeanour that told Man that by the standards of experience he was hopelessly outmatch. 

 

The broadsword that Xiphos held loftly disappeared in a puff of red smoke, leaving Man's hands empty. In confusion, he backstepped and it was a good thing that he did for just a moment later a spear landed heavily where Man had been standing. He cried out, again taking a step back. "I was told that you were a warrior. And yet, a true warrior does not show fear. You are a disgrace." Xiphos shot out his hand a massive battle axe appearing in it. Man began to regain his composure. "It is not lack of fear that makes warrior. It is cause fighting for." Man said stubbornly, fixing his armored opponent with a defiant stare. 

 

Xiphos charged, his axe make a deadly overhead arc that would easily cleave Man in two. "Gift of the Wild- Desert Tortoise." Almost instantaneously, Man's body became covered in dense scales and a massive shell found its home on his back. With the newly added weight, Man sunk a few inches in the ground, cracking the earth. The axe came crashing downward, but instead of slicing into flesh it glanced off of the defensive scales. Taking advantage of the situation, Man pushed outward, his bolstered strength sending the massive warrior stumbling backwards.

 

For a moment, Xiphos stood dumbfounded and Man was sure that if his face wasn't covered with a helm that there would have been a look of astonishment on it. "Never before has the champion of Ares been touched in battle." "First for everything."

[Kyng]

Watching his comrades spare off, Leon cussed loud. "Stay in forma-" He tried to order, before suffering a sucker-punch dealt by the craft Vanguard of Loki. Snarling with rage he leered at Kari, whom in turn snickered before opening his hands wide - dark shadowy blades formed swiftly, their steel shrieking in the entirety of the room as he began to swing and slice them for Leon's neck. The Vanguard of Anhur, in turn, leaned back to evade evisceration, drawing a spear to catch and deflect the blade. Another shriek from the steel echoed, loud and eerie, as the knife began to grind against Leon's spear, Kari forcing as much effort into it as possible. However, Leon had much more raw physical strength. He ably pushed Kari back with said strength, forcing him from him. Leon's eyes locked onto his target as he readied his missile of a spear.

 

With a thunderous throw Leon launched his spear, though Kari easily evaded it as he began to climb the crowd seating, snickering to the Egyptian Vanguard. "Now now, you didn't think this encounter would end so easily, did you?" before letting out an evil crackle in regard to noting his punch's effectiveness. Momentarily postponed, Leon spat out some blood before he roared and charged up, and at Kari, pursuing him up the stands.

 

This reflected how deep Kari's web was ensnaring Leon. Snickering, Kari engaged Leon in close-quarters again, lunging his knives for Leon whom, leaping back, stumbled down onto a seat. Growling, slightly humiliated from losing his footing, he recovered and rushed for Kari again whom continued to lead him up, and away, from the rest of the group, all the while laughing and snickering, further clouding Anhur's Vanguard's thoughts with frustration and rage which he longed to lash out against him. Needless to say, Kari was having a field-day, and yielded incredible advantage over Leon in this instance.

 

Leon was never the wiser - once at the top of the crowd standings, Kari lunged for him again, thrashing his knives for the Vanguard. This time, Leon did manage to leap back on equal ground before rushing a punch to Kari's jaw. The Vanguard of Loki's head swung hard as he spat out a tooth, reflecting Leon's brute force and well-executed strike. However, he dealt a kick to Leon's gut before bolting his way down a corridor, smirking and chuckling aware that from Leon's words that he'd be pursuing - Leon bellowed "Come back here, Kari!" as he sprinted after his prey, down the corridor, away from the arena, separated from his comrades and any assistance from them.

 

What Leon witnessed next was quite peculiar, to say the least. He was walking upon an exterior overhang of the fortress. Taking a brief moment he found himself momentarily lost in the sight before him - the sky that was nothing but the cosmos above was clustered with dark cloud and smoke from the flames of war that raged below - and at the foot of the fortress was a swarm of figures, all of them raging against each other, shedding blood, destroying each other. The pinnacle of Ragnarok had not even been reached, yet this scene before him was quite compelling.

 

Leon's eyes bolted wide as he heard a sinister speach: "A nice view, isn't it?" Turning back to face the fortress, or rather the corridor and the paths leading further up, he spotted a gang of six Kari illusions, with one last Kari standing to another corridor's entrance. It was then when he hit a switch. The fighters inside would note that the ceiling would open, in a sense, exposing the above chamber to them. It was a dome-shaped ceiling that gave a view to the cosmos above, though the view also clashed with dark smog of war. Notably the Arena had a bridge extended above it, which was accessed by the path Kari was blocking.

 

With this the six clones proceeded to attack Leon, though with the original Kari's mind set on another illusion, Leon's foes didn't stand much of a chance. It was what happened when Leon turned to Kari which drove things deeper for the Vanguard. A large bellow from Leon barked "Nailah!" as he bared witness to seeing Kari holding Nailah hostage, blade at her neck, crackling down to the Egyptian.

 

"See, Leon, I'm not going to waste time." Kari smirked. "This is end-game. I've got nothing to gain from hostage situations - so why am I even bothering?" With this, Kari drew his blades across Nailah's neck, leading to a stream of blood spurting from the orifice. He then proceeded to boot her off of the fort, letting Leon stand there, shattered and broken witnessing the ruthless death of his beloved. Watching her plummet down from the walk-way into the streams of armies he began to stream tears against his furious expression, looking back to Kari with nothing but sheer hatred and rage, spitting out venomous words:

 

"You're dead!"

 

Leon rushed up towards Kari, whom laughed at the Vanguard as he bolted across the bridge into the Arena once again, where Kari would engage in another instance of close combat with the Vanguard. Leon's rage became prominent in that he threw fists at Kari with heavy force, beforehand having grabbed and thrown off his knives down to the arena below. Leon then managed to gain an upperhand - he proceeded to beatdown the Vanguard of Loki in quite a brutal mannerism. Getting him to the floor he proceeded to punch him and dish out vicious blows to his face. The once pretty-boy vibe Kari had was gone, it was now nothing but bruises, cuts, bloody and wincing as Leon continued to unleash his rage out on him. His blows were so hard that the metal holding the bridge above the other's creaked from his relentless beatdown, only met with Leon's grunts and Kari's splutters and grunts from the receiving end.

 

Soon, after a while of unleashing this brutal attack, Leon panted and stood up, looking to the beaten body of the Vanguard. Leon panted again and again as he whipped back his tears, looking down at the likely deceased body of the vicious Kari Bodolf. Soon after, however, Leon's gaze drifted to the Arena below - he spotted something peculiar. Nailah was fighting Seth. Frowning in thought, Leon looked back to Kari to see nothing there. His eyes widened in dread as he realized what had happened: Kari had created an illusion of Nailah to assassinate before him, and he booted her off of the fortress specifically so Leon couldn't get a close look. From then, the instant Kari escaped Leon's line of sight he had created an illusion of himself for Leon to mercilessly assault.

 

But it was too little too late - Leon shrieked out as he felt something pierce his back, screaming in agony as he felt the steel knife of Kari Bodolf stab him. Behind him he heard the sadistic crackling laughter of his enemy as he pushed him along the bridge, letting Leon stumble before grabbing hold of one of the chains holding up the bridge to the ceiling for support. Roaring in pain he curled over, holding onto the chain for dear life as Kari snickered and looked to him. "Tell me, on a scale from one to ten, how much have I screwed up your plans, Leon?"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Genzai dodged the strike from Quillan as he was under Eryn's siren-like spell. Well that was no sur-....well surprise, surprise! After that one strike, the Grecian Vanguard struck back at Eryn...but only for a quick moment, as he was quickly taken away. "Its about time, Vlad got his rear in gear! Now, dance water-boy!~" Eryn smiled in a seductive way once again, as she began to snap her fingers one by one, as she sent blasts of chaotic energy straight to the Shinto Vanguard.

 

"Once again, puppet of Eris...your tricks shall not work!" Genzai spoke once again, as he dodged the blasts once again, before rushing in and sending slashes from both of his blades at the chaotic Vanguard.

 

Then came something he didn't expect...Sandra throwing herself into the fray, as she was beginning to launch arrows straight at Eryn, via a very interesting pistol/crossbow.

 

Finally...now Genzai could finish this off for Eryn...but that was before...

 

Throughout the arena, all the Vanguards could hear the agonizing screams of something in the bridge above them near the ceiling. But before Genzai looked up to the ceiling above, he looked around. Man...Nailah...Sandra...Quillan is with her partner...so whose... he stopped his train of thought as he quickly looked up, and what he saw, was not the sight he hoped for.

 

Bleach OST ~ Torn Apart

 

Above their heads...was the Vanguard of Loki...and a very wounded Vanguard of Anhur...Leon. Genzai's mouth was left agape, as he could only watch in shock at this. L-Leon... he thought as his hands clenched the blade's hilts tighter.

 

"Tell me, on a scale from one to ten, how much have I screwed up your plans, Leon?"

 

He had to think quick...he needed to attempt to help Leon...but he needed to stop Eryn as well. His mind was made up now, as he took Kusanagi as it began to glow brightly. "Great warrior from the frontlines of Ryujin's armies...aid me in this fight! Wash my enemies in your wake: TOKAGE!!!" From the blade, poured out water that formed a puddle of water which defied gravity...and from it, emerged Tokage. "Tokage! Help Leon now!!"

 

As you wish, Genzai-sama! Tokage said at once, as he flew towards the ceiling...however he didn't notice Eryn trying to strike at him.

 

"I don't think so, sugar!~" Eryn said, as she prepared to snap her fingers once again, but had Genzai already performing another technique: Charge of Rain...as he struck at her. "Your fight...IS WITH ME!!!!"

[Ren✧]

Quillan nimbly dodged the abundance of shadowy tendrils that lashed outward, eager to bite into his flesh. And while his superb agility gave him an upper hand, the relentless attacks from Vlad made it nearly impossible to return fire. "This would all go so much easier if you would just give in." Vlad taunted, having not moved since he and Quillan had entered combat. That, in and of itself, was enough to piss Quillan off. Was he not good enough to get this jerk's blood pumping? As Quillan swiftly leapt in between two reaching tentacles, he launched a barrage of shuriken that hissed towards his opponent. The black metal of the blades seemed to slow the closer they got Vlad and were easily knocked aside by one of his tangible shadows. "Got to be kidding me..." Quillan muttered. 

 

Unfortunately, for Quillan, he had lingered too long and the darkness was quickly approaching. The shadows leapt forward, able to sense the opening that Quillan's pause had left. Knowing that even his wind-like swiftness wouldn't be able to avoid the attack, Quillan slammed his fists together. A powerful cyclone erupted from his body, tearing apart the tendrils that had once been so eager to ensnare him. "Clever." Vlad said flatly. "Perhaps I underestimated you." As he said that three large shadows appeared in front of Vlad. For a moment, Quillan thought that the Vanguard of Ragnarok had decided to continue his relentless assault, but instead of summoning a mass of vicious tentacles, three figures appeared out of the shadows. "Let's see how you do against my Nightmares." The three shadow figures lurched forward, immediately trying to flank Quillan. 

 

A powerful breeze swept through the room, collecting around Quillan as he lifted himself into the air. Hovering just a few inches above the ground, he slowly began to turn, trying to keep all three shadow figures in his range of vision. "How am I supposed to take on three opponents?" Quillan asked aloud. The three Nightmares began to slowly close in, and as they got closer it seemed that the air was getting heavier. Something told Quillan that if he let them get a hold that he wouldn't be able to escape their grip. "You're taking on four." The voice came from behind Quillan. 

 

Having used the Nightmares as a distraction, Vlad had somehow made his way behind the Grecian Vanguard. Quillan quickly realized his mistake, but it was obviously too late. Quillan felt a stabbing pain in his left side. Firing a bolt of lightning, he forced Vlad to retreat slightly, but the Nightmares were still closing in. Examining his wound, Quillan found three syringes stuck in his side, each had reminiscent traces of different color liquids. Poison. "What did you do?" Quillan asked, already starting to feel slightly faint. 

 

"Oh don't worry, none of those are lethal. Like I said, I need you to talk." Vlad said. Quillan tried to figure out where the monotone sorcerer had gotten off to, but his vision was swimming and he couldn't make sense of anything. "I have injected you with a powerful relaxant, an immobilizing agent, and a truth serum." Upon hearing the last item on the list, Quillan felt a small piece of himself die inside. If it was true that he had been injected with a truth serum then he was liable to spill all sorts of information that could be damaging to the Alliance. Mustering his strength, Quillan drew one of his kunai as he collapsed to his knees. There was only one thing he could do.

 

With a decisive movement, Quillan brought the kunai up to his neck and move to swipe it across his jugular vein. However, before he could do the deed he felt the familiar chill of a shadow binding his wrist. A single tear fell from Quillan's eye. He had failed. For the last time he had screwed up and it could cost his friends everything.

 

At that moment a loud screeching sound overtook the arena and the night sky appeared overhead. Quillan could sense the sudden openness to the sky. It was his domain. If only he could muster the strength... For Zeus' sake, quit being so dramatic. A surge of electricity racked through Quillan's body as the familiar form of the storm spirit, Vex, materialized before him. The electricity seemed to purify him of the poisons that surged through his veins, and Quillan's focus quickly snapped back to the situation at him. "What is going on?" Vlad asked, for the first time a small bit of emotion creeping into his voice. It was obvious that he had not expected Quillan's Unit to save the day. Taking advantage of the confusion, Quillan acted swiftly. "Vex, you and Archimedes take on those Nightmares. I've got Vlad." Surging with new power, Quillan broke free of the shadows that bound him and called forth Archimedes to aid in the battle against the Nightmares. As his two Units entered combat, he faced Vlad. Electricity crackled off of his form. "No more games!" 

 

Quillan leapt forward, forcing Vlad into close combat. The dark robed sorcerer expertly used his staff to fend off Quillan, but it was quite obvious that battling in close quarters were not his specialty. Quillan, on the other hand, kept the pressure on. Having drawn two kunai, his slashed and hacked at the warlock. His blades would occasionally crackle with energy, and when they would meet with Vlad's skin they would discharge small amounts of paralytic charges. The tide had turned.

 

[hr]

 

"Gift of the Wild - Sister Snake." Man contorted his body, twisting around the extended spear that would have otherwise impaled him in the gut. Xiphos had stepped up his game, controlling multiple weapons with some form of telekinetic control. Man was pushed to the limit, forced to change constantly between his different animalistic forms so as to keep some sort of advantage over the ebony armored warrior. Slowly, the barechested wild man began to make way towards the warrior. 

 

Man noticed the sky above appear, the glow of a thousand stars now lighting his sweat covered body. "Gift of the Wild - Brother Eagle." Man took to the air with a mighty flap of his wings, just barely dodging the swing of a massive flail. "Face on the ground, coward." Xiphos taunted, but Man refused to play into such ploys. He knew that the sky was his friend in this confrontation. Bringing his pan flute to his lips, Man began to play a haunting melody that caused a mess of vines to sprout at Xiphos' feet. Ensnaring the black knight, the vines began to creep up his body slowly encasing him. The weapons that floated around him fell to the ground, his control over them broken as his concentration was otherwise engaged. 

 

Man landed on the ground, his opponent now encased in a giant oak tree. At that moment he heard some clatter from above and saw his leader, Leon at the mercy of Kari. A dangerous wound caught Man's eyes and he knew that if Leon did not receive help soon he would no doubt fall prey either to the grievous wound or to another of Kari's tricks. "Pup. Go." Man's furry, little Unit appeared in a puff of white smoke, making its way towards Leon incredibly quickly. Taking advantage of Tokage's body, Pup clambered up the dragon whelp and hopped from there on to Leon's shoulder. Pulling out a flask, the raccoon-like creature offered Leon a mouthful of godly elixir that would heal him up.

[Hotaru987]

Nailah jumped back avoiding Seth's most recent attack. Immediately afterwards she noticed the ground she was standing on shifting into sand. She leaped into the air, but the sand followed her. "Suarafa!" Nailah's shield managed to block the frontal assault, however the sand broke off into three separate streams. The streams then solidified into solid, column shaped weapons. Using her shield as a spring board she flipped backwards, sequentially dodging the onslaught of attacks. The moment she hit the ground she held out her hands; she had yet been able to retrieve her staff that had been knocked away. "Lama'ah!" The heat gathered in her hands and was fired towards Seth. Just as she predicted he easily blocked it, snuffing out her attack with a wall of sand.

 

"Come on Darlin'. You have to do better than this if you want to beat me. Though I must admit. I'm impressed with how you have been able to dodge my attacks." He chuckled, "You're a slippery one.

 

Neither one of them had took substantial damage, other than her own hands which were due to her own attack. This wasn't working. She needed to get closer to him. His defense and offence were so interwoven with each other. A simple shield could just as easily become an attack. 

 

"From that look, I take it you got a plan." Seth chuckled, "Well then, let's see how you dodge this." He stretched out his arms in front of him, and clapped them sharply together. From that a sand tornado formed and ws heading straight for Nailah. 'Ah! This may be the catylyst I need!'

 

Unlike any normal person that would run from a sand storm, she bolted towards it, leaping straight into it. The sand and the harsh winds cut through her flesh.Or so Seth thought. With a snap of his fingers the storm subsided, and Nailah was falling towards the ground. However, before hitting the ground Nailah faded away in a golden light. 

 

"What the hell?!" He shouted, before performing a Lama'ah powered kick to his back. However, instead of him grunting in pain, Seth exploded into sand, save for the part she kicked which turned to glass, and the explosion knocked Nailah back. Though, gain that Nailah too faded into a golden light. 

 

"That's some trick you got there." Nailah grumbled, more than a little annoying at how her plan didn't take as well as she had hoped. Seeing the real Seth to her right. 

 

"Well you know what they say, great minds. Though I don't think I can say the same for lover boy up there." Seth pointed up, and that's when Nailah noticed what was going on above her. How she missed it she hadn't a clue - probably due to sand in her ears - but her eyes widened when she saw Leon dangling from a chain and badly injured. "Leon!!" Luckily, both Genzai and Man were already trying to help him. But just how did something like that happen?

 

Seth whistled, catching Nailah's attention again, "Hey, pay a little more attention to me too darlin'. You're dating me right now."

[Kyng]

Wincing in agony, Leon could feel his grip failing against the chains that held the bridge above the arena, and him from a demise. The sheer pain of having a knife literally shoved into your shoulder plate was one that Leon could not begin to describe, but a word he'd use to aptly convey his agony, albeit meshed with a number of curse words and blasphemies, would be sharp, impaling force almost tearing him apart. The reddening of his blue attire, too, would agree with this description, as well as Leon's trembling arm, his left arm, who's hand was holding him, letting him dangle above the arena like so.
 
Just as his grip was about to fail, Pup had landed on his shoulder, the good one, thanks to Tokage's lift. Kari, raising a brow with curiosity, showed off great hubris as he stood back and watched in silence. "There's very little good any medicine can do you now, Leon. Go right ahead, I can promise you this will all be for nothing." With that cue, Leon panted and smiled to Pup, nuzzling his nose against him in gratitude before his hand's grasp slipped from the chain - falling now onto holding the bridge itself, both Leon and the Unit knew that they had to act quick.
 
With Pup opening the bottle and all but forcing Leon to drink it, the Vanguard did find great solace in the elixir. Sure, there was very little he could do about the knife in his back and the impeding it would cause him - and he'd be better keeping it in place to reduce bleeding, too - however Man's elixir greatly mitigated the pain of the wound, letting Leon recover himself slightly as he pulled himself back up onto the platform. Panting a little, helping Pup up as well, he chuckled to Kari. "Big mistake, letting me heal like that." Leon taunted to him, before glancing over to Kari's direction.
 
His swagger dropped there, because Kari had summoned two terrifying foes to face. His two units were the two wolves responsible for halving the power that Leon, and any Solar Vanguard and God, as well as Lunar counterparts could use - the Sun Eater, Sköll, and his brother the Moon Devourer, Manegarm (an alternative name for Hati Hróðvitnisson). The pair were Fenrir's children, Loki's grandchildren, and Kari's most deadly units. "Is that so?" Kari taunted, before watching his wolves charge.

Both of them lunged right for Pup, seeking to devour the tanuki whole, however both were stopped from the summoning of Martyxawar. The manticore, hands being gnawed in the maws of the wolves, held the beasts back and was even powerful enough to force them away from Leon and Pup. In this time Leon summoned Shar swiftly. "Pup, take Shar and go back to Man - and send him my regards." Leon chuckled before returning his gaze back to the conflict at hand.

While Leon's manticore was easily overpowering the wolves, it came with a hefty price - the beast was bleeding from his powerful hands, the two wolves more than capable of doing such damage. Swiftly, however, Martyxawar pulled Mangegarm closer, the dog insistent on eating the hand of the beast. The manticore roared as he drove his scorpion tail deep into the wolf's back, injecting its fatal venom into Mangegarm, but it was not all so successful - by that time, Mangegarm had bitten down hard and ultimately claimed Martyxawar's hand as his prize. The manticore, thus, knew Sköll could not be too far behind finishing him, and so with his stinger deep in the Moon Devourer's back, he dragged him down off the bridge along with Sköll, rushing the Sun Devourer down as they fell to the arena below, crashing hard. Leon winced, realizing that there were no survivors of that conflict.

With this however, Kari went right back to rushing down Leon - lunging his remaining knife for him, Leon leaped back and drew out his spears. Kari chuckled softly. "Oh come now - close quarters, on a chained suspended bridge? Your weapon is useless." With this Leon raised his brow, before doing something dangerously maverick - throwing it to a critical point of the bridge, leading to it to collapse and the entire bridge to shake violently, Leon then drew out his heavier, more powerful Djerd to finish the job.

It was clear in Kari's eyes, widen and furious, that Leon was going to bring the bridge down. "No..." Loki's Vanguard snarled. "You're not taking this from me. You're not!" He barked out, throwing his knife for Leon whom, evading the last attempt from the Vanguard, lobbed the Djerd with his last bout of strength.

The room tremored and quaked, some parts of the ceiling crumbled, as the steel bridge came flying down, smashing and dividing the arena's floor into two parts. Beneath the steel frame of the former structure was Kari Bodolf, whom winced in agony, before coughing a bout of blood as his eyes rolled back, succumbing to his injuries swiftly. Meanwhile, upon the structure was a gravely wounded Leon Artaxes, unmoving, his eyes feeling heavy.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

From what Genzai could see, Tokage made it just in time and helped bring Pup up there to Leon. The Egyptian Vanguard was at fighting strength once more...but now...this meant he had to finish this fight.

 

"Sorry to say this, Eryn...but today...the presence of Eris shall leave you!" Genzai said, his eyes narrowing as he gripped Mizu Okami and Kusanagi's hilts tighter. He knew how to finish this fight. And the one item that Susano'o handed him would aid him.

 

Eryn simply laughed as she shook her head. "My, water-boy, you talk a big game...but if you defeat me...my Mistress' chaos shall destroy you all from just the pure hell that it has!~" she said, as she clasped her hands together. "My victory is inevitable~"

 

World's Greatest Battle Music ~ Endgame

 

"Not today..." Genzai smirked, as he jumped back and allowed Tokage to fly down towards her.

 

TEMPEST CLAW!! Tokage roared as he began to slash his claws, sending the barrage of storm shockwaves at Eris' Vanguard, only to have them countered with her chaotic energy.

 

"Is that all you can d-" Eryn began to ask, until she was swiftly struck at by a quick blur of speed. To her surprise, it was Genzai with two wings made of beautiful ice. From these wings, she could even start seeing the evil that was within her...the ugliness she hid. "W-What..."

 

"Ryujin Kenbu...4th Form - Ame no Tsubasa!" Genzai said as he began to land blow after blow against this villianess, until the wings finally dispersed and struck Eryn. She was stopped and defeated as the ice spikes struck her...and now he had to work fast. From his side, he pulled out a sort of gourd...one resembling that of which Susano'o once sealed the Orochi in. "Vileness of the Goddess of Chaos...plague this deceased no longer!!" he yelled as Kusanagi began to glow, as did the gourd. From this, Eryn's chaotic powers began to quickly pour out from her body, being instantly sealed into the gourd.

 

It was over...almost...

 

World's Most Emotional Music ~ Aftermath: The Fallen Civilization

 

The battle overhead, Leon versus Kari...things began to go even more relentless. Genzai looked above as he caught the final glimpses of it: Leon's Djerd, smashing into the bridge...and the ceiling going down with it. Quickly thinking, Genzai hopped on Tokage and began to evade the falling debris. "Everyone move!!" he yelled to the other Spearheads, and even to those they were fighting.

 

The bridge came down...as the arena's ground floor became divided into two parts. The dust began to settle, as Genzai had avoided the falling debris...as did Tokage, barely for the latter as he had to return to the world of the Units in a haste. The Shinto Vanguard slowly pushed himself up from the ground, gaining leverage from the debris...as he looked up once more. He saw the two figures...Kari, who had succumbed to his injuries...and then Leon...who seemed to be fading fast. He tried to call out to his fallen comrade, but he was only succeeding in coughing...

 

All Genzai could do, was wait...and pray...

[Ren✧]

Quillan's bout against Vlad persisted. The two Vanguards would clash in an explosion of black and yellow energy as their power charged hits collided. The other combatants in the area had made sure to give the two a wide berth, careful to stay out of Vlad's fear inducing power and attempting to avoid any stray lightning bolts that might come off of Quillan's body. "You will eventually succumb to fear, Vanguard of Notus. I can feel it inside of you. You, like so many before you, attempt to hide your fear behind humor, but you cannot fool me. I see what you try so desperately to hide."

 

"Oh yeah?" Quillan asked, ducking under a swipe of Vlad's staff. "And what is it that I am so desperate to hide?" 

 

"Oh my dear boy, you are filled with fear." Vlad slammed the butt of his staff on the ground, causing a wall of black flames to erupt between himself and the heavily breathing Quillan. "You fear inadequacy." Upon Vlad's words an image appeared in the ebony flames. Quillan saw himself, cast out, unable to help his friends because he was too weak. "You fear intimacy." The image shifted to show Sandra leaving Quillan because he wasn't able to commit. "You fear the future, and what will become of you when the gods no longer need you as their pawn." Quillan saw himself thrown out of Olympus, no longer needed as a Vanguard. "You fear the darkness, for the unknown has always stricken terror in your heart." Quillan's vision grew dark. He and the image in the flames had become the same as the darkness closed in. The crushing blackness squeezed the air from his lungs. Everything that Vlad had said was true, wasn't it?

 

"You fear me. For I am fear itself." Vlad appeared in the blackness, his hands, as cold as ice, closed around Quillan's throat. Not like this. I can't go like this. Quillan thought, struggling against the hand that held him suspended in the inky darkness. "It is useless. You are too weak. You are pathe-" Vlad's speech was cut short by a high pitched screech that tore through the air. In that instant the blackness disappeared.

 

Vlad found himself once again on the battlefield, Vlad's illusion caused by targeting Quillan's inner fears completely shattered. Taking advantage of the moment of confusion, Quillan summoned a powerful cyclone that whipped viciously around the two Vanguards. The violent winds eventually forced Vlad to let his grip on Quillan's throat go. 

 

The bridge above the arena began to fall apart, being responsible for the screeching sound that had broken Vlad's illusion, but Quillan took no notice. Debris fell around him and the obviously panicked and confused Vlad. His emotionless, icy facade had crumbled. "I do not fear you." Quillan said, his voice reverberating with power as the whirlwind that surrounded him and the shadowy sorcerer grew stronger. "But, you should fear me!" Quillan shot a blast of blazing hot air at the sorcerer, causing his skin to redden, blister, and peel away in mere moments. Vladimir screamed in pain as the heat began to sear away his flesh. 

 

Sensing their master's pain, the Nightmares that had previously engaged Vex and Archimedes surrounded their master, shielding him from the desert air that stormed around Quillan. Knowing that the battle was over, Quillan let the storm fade and as he did so the Nightmares completely engulfed their master as he transformed into a shadow and slinked away. 

 

Exhausted, Quillan collapsed to his knees, only to fear a large hand clap him on the shoulder. "You okay?" Man asked, forcing Quillan to his feet. Quillan simply nodded. "Must help Leon." Man said, gesturing towards the large pile of debris that remained of the fallen bridge. Quillan took note of Kari's crumpled form, but more importantly, he saw Leon's fading form. "We have to hurry."

[Hotaru987]

For the next few minutes, neither Seth or Nailah were getting much of a result. And with Nailah having to conserve her Words she couldn't exactly shout them out at any given moment. However, Nailah was sure that she had a way to win. Whenever Nailah got close enough to actually land a hit on Seth, he would just dodge it by morphing his body into sand. It was actually more trouble than it was worth. Even more so, though he wasn't a terrible close-combat fighter, when compared to the training Nailah did with Crystal it wasn't troubling. Even Seth's abilities weren't that numerous for named attacks. However, sand itself was a versatile, and very malleable substance, and Seth had a deep understanding of his abilities and the capabilities he is allowed.That coupled with a grave mistake Nailah made earlier resulted in a deep laceration on her right side, and a stab wound on her left arm. 

 

Despite that Nailah thought she had a way of getting around that. Earlier when she hit with with her Lamah attack, part of his back was covered in glass. It must have still been there too, because she noticed that some of his movements when trying to twist, or turn were a bit stiff. Perhaps he didn't notice because he hadn't said anything about it, and Seth wasn't the type to stay quiet.

 

Nailah dodged a volley of sand arrows, rolling forward to try and cover distance. "Looks like you're slowing down, Darlin." He laughed, "But I could do this all day." He shot more sand arrows at her. "Sorry, but I'm done babysitting. Surafa." She blocked the arrows, and pushed forward. "I plan on ending this right now."

 

"Really now. Well then, I'm right here." Nailah, decided to take the bait. The moment she ran in, Seth assaulted her with wave after wave of attacks. It was a bit overwhelming, and took every bit of concentration to dodge the numerous interwoven attacks. It was a combination of dodging and strategic uses of Suarafa. "It's a futile effort! You aren't going to win this fight! Just give up!" He laughed. "You're a smart girl. You should know how this war is going to end."

 

It was then Nailah saw her chance. An opening in his onslaught. "Yeah, with our victory." Nailah replied, dashing forward. Seth was quick to notice his mistake, but it was too late and he knew that. Before he knew it Nailah was right in front of him, hands glowing in a bright. He face fell into surprise, and a flash of anger was quick to follow. It was a strange look on his face. Before he could do anything Nailah grabbed both of his wrist, which quickly began turning to sheets of glass.

 

"What the hell!?" He shouted, and kicked her away. He stumbled backwards, and attempted to use his hands but found he couldn't. "What did you do?"

 

Nailah smirked, "You're a smart boy. You should know how this is going to end." Seth cursed and began using his feet to kick sand at her, but without the use of his hands dodging them were child's play. He tried to kick again but Nailah reached him before he could, and hit his leg with a douse of Lama'ah. He tried to back away, but Nailah was going to end this fight now. "Lama'ah!" With a powerful shout her hands shone in a bright light, and she slammed her hands into Seth's chest. He flew back with a shout, and his chest began turning to glass and slowly spreading to the rest of his body.

 

Nailah walked over to him, "Looks like you lose."

 

"Hehe...Guess so..." He winced as the glass began creeping up his neck. "But...It was fun while it lasted." Of course being Seth he couldn't leave without one last cheeky remark. "Hey, when I'm gone don't dream about me too much. Don't want lover boy to get jealous." With that his face was encased in glass, forever keeping his face youthful. Unknown to Nailah, a small portion of his back escaped the spreading glass and a slither of sand managed to escape into a crack into the ground.

 

Nailah stood up, but stumbled upon feeling the room tremble. "What the-?" She looked up just in time to see the bridge falling. On impact the shock wave sent Nailah flying back. "Ah...L-leon?" She rubbed her head, hissing since she forgot that her hands were burnt from her Lama'ah attacks. When she was able to see what was happening, a sharp fear hit her. "Leon!" He didn't seem to hear her, and wasn't responding.

 

Looking to Genzai, he seemed to be in terrible shape as well. Quillian looked worse for wear but was at least standing with help from Man. As for herself, she didn't know how much long she would remain conscious if her side wound kept bleeding like it was. With all of the battles over, fatigue and tiredness seeped into her body even though she knew there was more they needed to do. The building looked to be collapsing, and no one was in much of a shape to make a run for it. Was there anything she could do to save them? Her beloved? Her friends? Her magic drained her so quickly, it was almost more of a trouble than a help. But that's when it hit her. Thoth's parting gift. "Kotab'tahawut." In front of her a faint shimmering light appeared, and in the light was a book whose pages sparkled with gold, and whose bindings seemed to whisper. "The Book of Thoth..." This was her first time seeing it, but now wasn't the time to study it. She had a purpose. She reached out and opened the book, and instantly the hieroglyphics exploded from the pages and surrounded Nailah in a sphere. "Amazing...."

 

" Now, Nailah. This is a very dangerous thing I'm giving to you. Some may not a prove, but I think this may be needed to help turn the tides. However, I can only do this once so use it wisely....And Nailah...Stay safe."

 

She remembered the words of her patron God and knew this was the time to use such a gift. "Aksu...Aliwaku....Ashifa.." As she spoke each word the hieroglyphs floated towards the book. The moments the phrase was completed the hieroglyphs shot towards each person consider friendly to the speaker, and stuck themselves onto their whole bodies. Just as quickly as they latched on, the symbols pealed off of them and as they did the physical damage and fatigue faded as they were being restored to a previous version of them in time. The hieroglyphs then returned to the book, which closed and vanished. Nailah, having expended any energy she had left collapsed. Every so often her body would shimmer in and out of focus once brought back to Thoth in time she would live. 

[Kyng]

Everything was quite dark and cold, yet soon after a mysterious warmth enveloped them all.

What Leon initially perceived to be a case of him passing on turned to be him being restored to full strength. Thoth's spell had reversed the effects of time itself on all of the Vanguard's injuries. Groggily standing up, he brushed himself off, rubbing the back of his head in reasonable confusion about all this. He was fading for a moment, but now he was back. However, before long he realized just how he had been restored - an unconscious Nailah upon the floor had dragged him from the snares of death itself, and in turn collapsed from fatigue. With a soft smile, he dropped down to her upon his knees, after which he lifted her up into his arms, smiling softly as he brushed her hair from her face.
 
Looking to the other Vanguards, he smiled weakly, before chuckling softly. Looking to the others he saw the sparks of invigoration in their eyes. From Jovan to Aaron, the Vanguards had done what they had been created to do. They had destroyed the Ragnarok Vanguards, crippling the army of a significant force. With eyes blazing with pride, Leon then looked to Genzai, Quillan, and Man alike, softly speaking: "We've won."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 10 - The End of the Storm

Since that day, the battle between good and evil continued as normal, but with the alliance's Vanguards now able to front to battlefields with their expertise and power, uncontested by adversaries, the balance in power had shifted significantly The Alliance had picked up vast momentum they needed to proceed with a plan bound by fate itself. The final battle, indeed, was approaching. Many Gods would perish. However, both the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda were soon deciphered by Bragi, God of Poetry, and many other Deities skilled in such manners. They had discovered that, while the fate of many Gods were doomed, not all were to be condemned in battle with Ragnarok.
 
It appeared that the Yggdrasil tree would remain after the destruction of the planes of reality. As such, it was fated that those who would heed the call, and hide away in Hoddmímis holt would be safe. In addition to this, Gimlé was to be the first new city of this world, a place more beautiful than any place on the Earth. After Surtr's flames engulfed and destroyed the world, Atum-Ra would use his power to return the world into the waters of chaos, to wash away the flames of the Jotunn - and once these waters had drenched the destroyed world, from the ashes of the old would rise the new. Osiris, too, would remain in his position, a God of Renewal to rebirth the Earth.
 
Just as fate predicted, the final battle occurred. Leon was among those who would not survive Ragnarok, charging into battle alongside Anhur, the Lion of Egypt, to rage against the forces of Ragnarok - he was duty-bound as a War Vanguard. It was needless to say that he perished - there was to be no-one to survive that battle. All those who survived Ragnarok's events were hidden, safeguarded in the great tree of Yggdrasil. Soon, the fires of Muspell began to consume the world, and shortly after as fated, Atum-Ra brought the waters of chaos to obliterate what was left of the world, and once these waters calmed and quenched the raging fires, a new world was born. Sunlight shined brilliantly through the world in the first new dawn, the first day in this new world. As a sign of brief hope, Nidhogg appeared from the roots of Yggdrasil, carrying fated corpses with him to what would be the new afterlife. Among those corpses was Leon himself.
 
Much as fate predicted, Gimlé stood strong and tall. However, unpredicted by fate, many Gods followed the lead of the almighty Atum-Ra, and proceeded to become composites with one another, to form a single pantheon under which humanity would prosper. The rebirth of the world had began. Time began to tick. Sun rose and set. A time of peace, prosperity, and a new beginning had started for the world.  Soon time itself would take the lives of all those mortals who survived Ragnarok. Whatever time it was, Leon would reunite with his comrades in this afterlife, and enjoy a peaceful eternity living among the Gods, Heroes, and greats of the war of Ragnarok.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Fin.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

"What do you mean, Ryujin-sama?! We have to help the Alliance!!" Genzai spoke to Ryujin, who had no longer any intentions of aiding the Alliance in the final battle.

 

I no longer have to do anything of the sorts. I have done my duties...and offered my help when it was necessary. Ryujin simply said as he looked at his Vanguard. Now...a new world awaits us...and when it arrives, I will live and rule the seas once more from my palace! You shall have your place beside me.

 

Genzai couldn't believe what he was hearing. What had gotten into Ryujin all of the sudden? Confused, he tried to make a run to escape the throne room. However, Ryujin slammed the doors shut and locked them tight.

 

"Ryujin-sama...please reconsider! The Spearheads need me!" Genzai said, quickly turning around, filled with anger right now.

 

I cannot, Hatsune Genzai... Ryujin spoke quickly as he left the throne room himself, only to leave the Shinto Vanguard there alone. Once the new world begins...the doors shall open.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Genzai sat in that throne room and meditated, his fists clenched as he awaited for the doors to open. As he meditated, he had images and scenarios playing within his mind on how things would go. ...All of them being bad...

 

He quickly opened his eyes as the doors finally opened up. Without a second thought, he rushed out, calling Tokage as he rushed to where the final battle would take place. Please...please still be alive!! PLEASE!!! Genzai thought as he and Tokage kept heading towards the battlefield.

 

Kimi No Boku Orchestral

 

Unfortunately...with the rebirth of the new world, he barely saw any carnage...as if Atum-Ra's waters of chaos washed it all away. Genzai jumped off of Tokage's back, as he landed on the field. He looked all over...saw nothing...not even within the world tree Yggdrasil. The Shinto Vanguard kept looking, until he paused. From the roots of the world tree, Genzai saw the Nidhogg emerge. And with it...the fated corpses that would follow it to the new afterlife. But one in particular stood out to him: the Spearhead leader, Egyptian Vanguard of Anhur, and a very dear friend to him.

 

"L-Leon..."

 

Indeed, it was the Egyptian Vanguard that followed the Nidhogg. He only watched as Leon saw him, giving him a very warm hearted smile as he turned away...with the Nidhogg and left. Genzai fell to his knees...beginning to beat the ground as he cried. "Damnit!! I-If only I was here sooner!!" he said, shaking his head. "Damnit...damnit...DAMNIT!!!"

 

Genzai just looked at the world tree, before ceasing the crying as he moved towards it. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he removed Mizu Ookami and his mother's necklace. He stabbed the blade in the ground in front of Yggdrasil and placed his necklace around the hilt. He stepped back and fell to his knees, bowing before it. "Leon-san...I hope you can forgive me...please do not hold this against me in the afterlife." he said before slowly standing back up. "I had hoped we'd be able to finally have our lives to ourselves to enjoy...but now...now it seems like I will have to live the life out for us all..."

 

The Shinto Vanguard smiled as he took out his ocarina once more, before smiling. "I may as well...give you one last performance..." he said as he brought the ocarina to his lips and began to play. The melody to him, would bring this world back to itself, to have things return as it was reborned. The sun dawned on him as he played, he knew this was a definite sign. Genzai kept playing as he wanted to give Leon and all those who fought a proper performance.

 

As his melody ended, Genzai placed the ocarina down by his katana, for his memorial to those who fell...but especially...to the Spearheads as well. With that....Genzai left...to not only live his life...but to aid those who needed it.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

World's Most Emotional Music Ever ~ Memories

 

"Come closer little ones...allow your grandfather to tell you about the tales of the Vanguards." the young children smiled as they surrounded the now much older ex-Shinto Vanguard, Genzai Hatsune. Since the rebirth of the new world almost fifty-one years had passed...and Genzai was now seventy and had a wonderful family.

 

He found the love of his life, after saving her from a group of thugs in Osaka. Since then, their destinies were intertwined as they married and began to live life together. Genzai knew somewhere in the afterlife, he was getting a huge thumbs up by Quillan...possibly even Man and Leon. The years drug on as they had a child, who out of respect to his fallen comrade...named him Reon Hatsune. They watched their young son grow up...and Genzai even passed down his knowledge of the Ryujin Kenbu to his son...who was now a natural at it.

 

As their son grew and ready to venture the world on his own, Genzai handed him one special present: Kusanagi, the blade once wielded by the Shinto God, Susano'o. "You my son, shall need much more use of it than I."

 

Time continued as Genzai continued to live...even though within his heart...there was still remorse and regret about not helping the Spearheads on that final battle. But, he made the promise to Leon and the others that day...that he would live his life for them all.

 

The ex-Shinto Vanguard grew older and older, as his wife he lost to time. All he had left now, was Reon and his grandchildren...them and the stories he told about the days of his youth.

 

"On that day...the young Shinto Vanguard saw the fabled Nidhogg creature rise from the roots of Yggdrasil. And with him, the souls of those who were lost in that great battle followed after him. The Shinto warrior looked and saw his comrades leaving this world and heading to the new afterlife...but those who he called friends...it was truly hard for him to just let them go." Genzai said, as he wiped a few tears out of his eyes as he brought the story to a close.

 

And brought to a close...it was...

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

And like life...the chapter of one's life also begins to end...

 

Naruto Shippuden OST ~ Samidare

 

Genzai knew his life was ending soon, as he made his way back to find himself at Yggdrasil once more. He was surprised that his memorial to the fallen warriors was still there. A faint smile remained on his face as he knelt down and bowed at it once more. As he slowly stood back up...he heard a faint throat being cleared. Genzai turned...only to see Ryujin.

 

Genzai-san...it is...good to see you again. the Shinto god of the seas said slowly, as he looked at the aged Genzai.

 

This was a surprise to him, as he hadn't seen the dragon since the day the new world had been brought forth. And he even refused to acknowledge him and call upon him to be granted strength. He spoke not a word, as he only nodded at the dragon.

 

I wanted to apologize...for everything. Ryujin said, looking away. I felt like I let you down...and forced you to carry the burden you've held on to for so long. For that I am truly sorry.

 

"Ryujin-sama..." Genzai finally spoke as he looked at the sea dragon. "...just keep my family line watched over. I have forgiven you...just as I know Leon and the others did as well. Tell Kame, Zeri, and Tokage...to watch over them as well." he said as he turned to face the world tree. "Now...I can finally go with my life fully fulfilled."

 

As he said this, he watched the Nidhogg return from the roots of the tree. Genzai smiled as he closed his eyes...before taking one last breath and being taken by the Nidhogg to the afterlife.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Genzai slowly opened his eyes, as he saw a bright light. He groaned a bit as he slowly sat up, noticing right away that his body was no longer aged. He stood up...looking around as he saw the afterlife known as Grimél. He smiled as he looked around and saw the steps leading up to the square.

 

The Shinto Vanguard smiled and started walking up the stairs, as he could hear laughter and cheering going on in the square. The laughter and cheering made him smile more as he started jogging...then running...

 

World's Most Emotional Music Ever ~ Reunited

 

There, before Genzai was a huge gathering of Vanguards and warriors that he knew by heart. When he reached the last step, everyone stopped and stared at the Shinto Vanguard. They all smiled as they slowly moved away as if a parting sea, and showed him a familiar group in the middle: the Spearheads.

 

Not only this...but even his wife was with them as they were laughing and carrying on. Genzai smiled as he slowly approached the group, finally arriving at his old team.

 

"Finally home guys..."

 

It was the only thing he could say, as the Spearheads all gathered around him and hugged him tightly as they continued to carry on with their fun and enjoyment.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The stories of the Spearheads and all the Vanguards that fought against the forces of Ragnarok would continue to go down in history as legends...

 

But for those who made it Grimél...they knew different...they lived it...and because of them, they were able to make the world safe...and even allow their tales to inspire others...

 

Epilogue End

[Ren✧]

Quillan watched the magically conjured image of the world burn. The final battle the Spearheads experienced as a team had happened long ago, and finally the final battles of Ragnarok had engulfed the world. A deep sadness welled up within Quillan. He bit back the tears, even though he was alone. He felt like a coward. His reward for serving the forces of Alliance was to sit out the world's end, and like a fool he had accepted it. He knew that there were Vanguards that had been taken by their patron, Genzai being one of them, to survive in the new world. The new world would need people like Genzai, people of loyal hearts and brave souls. Quillan wasn't one of them, or so he thought. He had ran. He had left them to fight. He had left them to die. 

 

Earlier that day he had watched his leader, his friend, charge into battle alongside the gods of the Alliance. He had watched him charge into battle with the sun on his back and a spear in his hand. And he had always watched him die. The first tear fell. Quillan quickly wiped it aside. He refused to show grief, because he didn't deserve that release. He had let his friends go to battle alone, he should have been with them. "What are you doing up?" The voice called from behind Quillan, a sing-song voice that spiraled through the air. He turned to be met with the sight of the most beautiful woman in the world. 

 

"Nothing, honey. Just...uh...just watching." Quillan said, waving his hand through the image to make it disappear. Sandra moved to embrace the Grecian Vanguard. 

 

"You were right to leave." She said, having sensed his distraught since deciding to take refuge. "Man's death hit you hard. You have give up enough." 

 

"I could have given more." Quillan said, nuzzling his face in the daisy scented hair of his wife. 

 

"You say that like this was your last chance. There is a whole new world for us. There is so much left to do."

 

And for the first time since Quillan's memory of his past life was wiped, he began to cry. Not just a tear, but dozens. Each falling onto the shoulders of the woman that would stand by his side until the day the two died in a battle against the struggling powers of evil. Afterall, just because Ragnarok was over, didn't mean there weren't forces of darkness to slay.

 

Their final moments would be fighting side by side, power and love fighting as one. They would leave only one thing on this new Earth. A daughter. She would be raised by one of the couple's closest friends. She would grow up, not knowing the troubles of war and the fear of death. She would grow up to be someone great. She would grow up to be someone her parents would be proud of, no matter what.

 

It is said that if one listens to the wind, that they will be able to hear Quillan's final words forever immortalized by his patron. 

 

'Live fast, my love. And don't take sh*t from nobody.'