The Battle for Dante's Soul

The entrance was right by the waters where some animals were still walking in and then just disappearing out of thin air. They walked forward into it, going to the same place as everything else. A typhoon of water circled around them, plunging them deeper and deeper until eventually it opened up to a castle made of partly ice, floating water, and a black smoke that condensed itself to fit certain areas.

There were no guards, just animals that continued to walk into the open castle doors, leading to a throne where a man sat alongside two prominent animals. One being a horse that was laying on the floor asleep, facing backwards so they couldn’t see its face, and one being a small baby dragon.

Some animals were off to the sides, already dead, but reanimated into a ghost-like form.

Others were like zombies that came back to life in a black aura, but most were normal without any damage done. Michiaki and Astro walked across the bridge of ice into the doors, but surprisingly the ice wasn’t slippery. Before Astro could even say anything, Michiaki spoke.

Michiaki: “Isamu, I presume?”

Isamu: “–Who is asking?”

Michiaki: “I don’t want to take up any more time than I have to. I have people waiting for me and I’m going against my own word doing this, so I shall only ask once. Will you give the boy’s soul back?”

Isamu: “Hmm…Hmm….Hmm…Don’t talk to me. Let the animals through. They did nothing wrong.”

Michiaki: “Isamu! Will you give the boy back?!”

Isamu: “...Frustrated…Angry. Only I’m allowed to feel that way right now, and yet I am containing myself.”

Michaiki: “Astro, stand back and use whatever you have to do to stay alive. Of course, I’ll protect you too. Watch out for the walls. He’s using Water and Aqua chaplets on the space around here. He has full control himself, so I’m not sure why he is using them, but watch out. Floods will start raining down if they break…Isamu, I do not know you and I am sorry for this. I will do my best to make this painless. Allow me to introduce myself properly before I take your life. My name is Michiaki Sen, 1st Reverend of the Great Swordsmen, The Almighty Weapon…Right hand fairy to Morlin the Magnificent, The Banished Witch, and Former Grand Ruler of the Elf Clan.”

He pulled his sword out, creating streaks of blue and purple light to flash the entire area, and in an instant, they were somewhere else. Astro was astonished at the feats of this man. He had only known him as a swordsman, but there was much more to learn. The space they were in now was different. A domain of only white color, devoid of nothing but white.

Michiaki: “This is an actual portion of the World of White, the 1st World of Protrations. Astro, do not touch the ground or the walls. You will perish where you stand.”

Isamu: “Should I laugh? Should I yell? I don’t like this. Where did all my animals go? I’m about to lose my mind.”

Michiaki: “Tell me, what is so special about animals?”

Isamu: “They are perfect. They do not impede their way of life like humans do to each other. Humans kill themselves and animals for doing nothing wrong. Hiro, come here.”

A small dog came from inside his clothes containing black fur and white spots. He certainly looked alive, but he was not.

Isamu: “This is my dog. His name is Hiro. When I was young, he was taken from me, but now we are reunited. I shall reunite with all animals of this world, and then eventually, every animal of every world shall be returned to me.”

Michiaki: “I don’t get it. What does stealing animals have to do with saving them? They are natural predators. Most of them probably killed each other on the way to your chambers. They do not have the knowledge of mankind, so they go based on instinct, and that instinct is to survive by doing anything possible. Humans can at least make a choice.”

Isamu: “A choice? Animals cannot make a choice? So, my dog had no choice in his own death? Should I have grabbed a sword and sliced those men’s necks? Looking back, maybe I should have. Maybe they deserved it. They are long gone by now, but I wish I could’ve killed them with my own hands. Their blood would’ve tasted nice.”

Michiaki: “Isamu, I will apologize once more for the path that you have taken. It seems we are more similar than I thought. The world forced us to hide and forge our own path and now the world is sending people to attack our peace and change our ways. I’m afraid one of us is going to die here and that person will not be me.”

Isamu: “I wouldn’t be so sure about that…Shadow’s Realm: Whisperfangs.”

An overwhelming darkness started to spread before stopping halfway combined with the World of White projection. A city of dark buildings appeared with 100 shadows all with white eyes that glared at Michiaki with killer eyes. An army that wanted his blood. When all 100 of them moved through the air to attack him, Michiaki closed his eyes for 1 second before opening them, showing 2 different colored eyes. One was pink and the other was red. The shadows disappeared into thin air when he looked at them.

Michiaki: “You have control of part of the World of Black, the 8th World of Protration?”

Isamu laughed, pierced his hands with his blade, aimed it at Astro and fired a dark blue beam of solely mana that was so big, it would destroy multiple cities at once. Michiaki slid in front with his blade, deflecting it off to the sides before rushing in at Isamu. He went to swing his sword, but it was a bluff, as he slid below kicking Isamu into the air and throwing a strange looking chaplet at him.

Astro recognized it because of its extreme popularity and was rumored to be the best chaplet in the world…Fool’s Judgement. A chaplet that was dressed like a jester, kind of like Ren. It didn’t have to be broken and this was the only one in the world, held by Michiaki Sen himself.

Isamu’s mind spaced out…Time froze still for everybody. Not even Michiaki could move. Then, all of a sudden, the space flashed with past memories of Isamu’s life. Memories of his father beating his mother. His older sister tried to help, but his dad ended up killing them both along with the cat they had. It repeated the memory of Hiro along with many others that showed his haunted past.

Isamu: “What is this? I’m going to kill you, Michiaki Sen. I don’t need to see this. Give me back my mind!!!”

Isamu screamed out loud and tried to get rid of what was going on, but voices haunted the area. Voices of his parents, his friends, his family, and the sounds of animals dying.

Isamu: “Michiaki Sen!!!”

Michiaki: “I’m right here, Isamu.”

Michiaki was face to face with him, halfway slicing his sword at Isamu’s neck before he raised his arm and deflected the sword with his fist. Michiaki’s goal wasn’t to cut his neck off, but he stared him in the eyes with his red and pink eyes, and in a flash, Isamu was back looking at the memories that he had just seen via Fool’s Judgement. It was like time repeated itself and he was back to where he originally was.

Isamu’s sword began to speak to him as if aiding in what he should do. “Master, break the barrier,” it told him. What it meant was to break the World of White into pieces with his sword, confident that it could do it.

He walked over, completely ignoring the thoughts at this point, aimed his sword at the wall, and the 10 incantation symbols on his sword lit up, piercing a hole in the wall that eventually shattered the rest of the barrier.

Michiaki yet again was aiming at the man’s neck though in preparation of cutting it off. Isamu deflected it again, easier this time, expecting it. However, patches of black fire began to spread across his skin and the sword cut through his arm. He ducked his head and kicked Michiaki in the stomach, but it was hard. A circle with 5 layers lit up on Michiaki’s stomach and deflected Isamu backwards onto the ground. Michaiki dug in his pouch and pulled out 8 Smile Chaplets, breaking them all on the ground, creating 8 different barriers around them.

Isamu: “You think this holds a candle to my strength?!”

The whole point of doing this was to have the red frowning faces laugh so much that it created a lot of noise for at least 3 seconds while Michaiki threw his sword at Isamu, but used a Render Chaplet as it went past his body. Eventually, Isamu broke all the barriers in one move and this time, went after Michiaki with an angrier face than ever.

Isamu: “Shattered Periment.”

Michiaki stopped in place much like before when time was frozen, but he could still see what was going on, but couldn’t move. Isamu bolted at him, his sword headed right for his heart.

Michiaki: “The body seeks the truth…”

He looked at Astro and his scythe when he did this, and then used a shadow teleportation to appear right behind Isamu, stabbing him in his hip and then aiming for his chest.

Isamu darted off at Astro, trying to grab his heart right out of his chest, but Michiaki wouldn’t let this happen. He broke an Ectro Chaplet, pulling Astro back towards him.

Michiaki: “Do you have no pride in your swordsmanship? Targeting someone that you aren’t fighting…Grovel at your knees.”

Michiaki’s eyes lit up again, but this time, one was orange and one was green. Isamu’s body dropped to the ground as if gravity was weighing down on his body. He screamed out loud, and got up slowly, breaking whatever was weighing him down.

Michiaki: “The effects should be hitting right about…Now.”

Isamu started to cough up blood and his mana visibly declined. He looked weaker, tired, and not ready to fight against someone of full strength, however he was still incredibly strong– strong enough even in this state to fight against the Great Swordsmen. His mana core was directly hit from Michiaki’s effect of the Fool’s Judgement Chaplet.

Isamu: “Shadow’s Realm!”

Michiaki: “World of White.”

The effects cancelled out like earlier as half was white, and half was black with cities full of shadows. “King’s Wraining Wrath,” he yelled out this time, sending dark shadowy swords that rained down from the sky. Knowing that they wouldn’t be able to hit Michiaki, Isamu twisted them and pushed them forward.

Astro was hiding inside Michiaki’s shadow at this point, so he could not be touched. Although, there was no reason for this as Michiaki stuck out his hand, stopping every sword that came at them without a hassle.

Isamu: “You’re not like everybody else. I’ve been out of practice, clearly.”

Michaiki pulled a Breaker Chaplet out of nowhere, as it was associated with his witch side as one of the chaplets that he could control. He used it to move the smoke throughout the entire area, forcing it into Isamu’s body to break his organs and his mana core if he could with it, however this man was too powerful.

He purposely breathed in the smoke, but nothing happened. It was like he had trained for years to prevent this from affecting him.

Michiaki pulled out another chaplet with his witch ability…The Trigot Chaplet. Astro recognized it from when he was in the games. This chaplet was offered to him, but he didn’t take it in the bonus round. When activated, the world around them warped into ripples.

Time sped up and then slowed down.

Rocks rolled in different directions, making a wall in between them before Isamu’s dog, Hiro, numbered in the hundreds, attacking Isamu all at once. He killed them without hesitation, knowing it wasn’t his dog, but an illusion, and then blood spilled everywhere and the dogs panted as they passed away one by one.

The air glitched like an error with a black and white color. Michiaki was talking to Isamu, but his mouth was covered by this glitch on purpose and he couldn’t hear him.

He didn’t care.

He plunged towards him with his sword, but then it was gone. ‘Huh?’ he questioned. The barrier became a land of green grass and dandelion flowers for miles. Bunnies hopped across the field. But then, it began to rain and green acid came pouring down, burning the land and all the animals in it.

Isamu: “ENOUGH! Lifeless Integration! Martyr King’s Resolve! Black Binds!”

Isamu broke out of the chaplet’s ability again with his own abilities, aiming for Michiaki with his sword only to see smoke screens everywhere. Black Binds sent ashy ropes towards Michiaki, but they dispersed one by one and Isamu couldn’t even see his opponent.

He couldn’t detect Michiaki’s mana, but stood there and focused. Focused more than ever before, clenching his sword into his hand harder, taking in more blood. Michiaki silently awaited in the smoke before approaching from above where Isamu’s sword splurged out blood similar to controlled mana lines. He used a Levitation Chaplet quickly, pulling himself away and flying around trying to avoid the blood. ‘That’s toxic,’ he thought. ‘I’m going to waste too much mana trying to continuously heal myself if that hits me. His body has to be draining more. The effects of Fool’s Judgement is still in place. Hmm, he’s breaking legendary chaplet abilities with ease. He’s certainly not weak. He might be on par with that man in the Titan War. Let’s try something else.”

Isamu: “Burning Shadow! Martyr King’s Resolve!”

Shadowy flames rose up from below, above, and from the sides. They began to close in on him, combined with pillars of ice that tried to stab him. He didn’t have much space to move around. He realized what this ability did quickly though. If it hit him, then it drained his mana by 25%.

He was too strong to deal with cheap tactics like this.

“Acinium Chaplet.”

He used this via his witch abilities, cancelling out the effects of the barrier. He knew this would throw off Isamu, so he purposely went through it without taking any hits and dashed for Isamu who was too cocky to pay attention.

Hiro jumped out of his hoodie who was sleeping the entire time, despite what was going on, and was stabbed by Michiaki’s sword instead, using himself as a shield.

He squealed on the ground in pain.

Isamu knelt over quickly to help, but Michiaki was ruthless, targeting Isamu’s heart yet again. He stabbed him, overwhelmed with grief.

He was caught off guard because of Hiro.

Blood spilled from all over.

Isamu could use the powers of Palingensia that converged with his sword to revive Hiro again, but he needed some time…Time that this man would not give him. His sword came inches away from his head, but surprisingly was reflected by a shadowy pulse in the air.

Isamu: “Fine. You want to abandon animals? I’ll make you regret ever coming here. 10 Layers, Icy Munden, Ocean’s Wrath, Fiery Blaze, Wind’s Howl, World’s Envy, Pillars of Snow, Spiky Abyss, Shadow Rage, City’s Curse…Shadow Convergence!”

Black sparks ignited underneath the ground and then throughout his entire body. He screamed in agony, the pain lingering as his body transversed through death and back. His skeleton mirrored through his body, bones rattling and blood boiling as if on fire. The 10 incantations on his sword lit up in black and white and his outfit began to change into armor made of shadows and a black solid crown that drilled into his skull.

Michiaki: “Astro, he can enter your shadow transport at will now. He has control of all shadows in the area and all but 1 chaplet…The Time Chaplet. He even has control of your body and everything inside of you. Everything is his. I advise you to get out of here or you won’t live to see another day.”

Astro: “Why not the Time Chaplet?”

Michiaki: “People regard Fool’s Judgement as the Greatest Chaplet because of its sure hit effects and ability to kill someone instantly depending on their past. Usually, it would kill someone pretty quickly, but it’s slowly taking effect for this man. However, the Time Chaplet is the true best chaplet, well…I’d like to say it’s tied with another, but essentially, no witch has ever been born with its ability. It stops time for everybody in the world for a random amount unknown to the user even. If the user wanted to, they could kill everybody once they are frozen. That’s why it is so overpowered and the world itself even recognizes this and puts a limit on it. It’s only been used twice ever on record, one of them being in the TItan War. It really screwed us over, but we managed to win because of Aamon and Clara. She doesn’t give herself enough credit, but I escaped the Time Chaplet’s effects and freed their body's souls so they could move again. The other being long, long ago in a supposed fight against the sword Alcion. Someone thought they could really win with that chaplet. There is no winning against that man…Astro, I would leave now. He’s not going to wait any longer.”

Astro took his word and teleported away using a Yellow Egress Chaplet that Michiaki gave to him at the start in case anything went wrong. Isamu’s sword stayed the same, but the incantations stayed lit.

Michiaki thought, ‘So if I destroy the incantations, then the power lessens? Seems simple. Fool’s Judgement should still be in effect, although he’s overpowering it somewhat. Fascinating that someone like this exists. This is what I mean, Julia. As someone who’s seen the battlefield, someone always is born stronger to prevent good from winning…He has the Copy Chaplet as well now, so any ability I have he will use. I wonder if there is a limit on how many times he can use one? Hmm, interesting. I guess I’ll have to go all out.’