Is This The End? Pt. 1: Defeat at the Hands of the Enemy

Aris greatly enjoyed the show. Seeing the Naga princess succumb to the effects of the drug and attacking the Dragonborn was quite a spectacle! He laughed, he clapped, he cheered throughout the entire battle like a real little kid watching a live-action superhero theater show; except this time, he was rooting for the villain to win and the hero to die. In the end, heroes are only born to suffer. However, his entertainment was sadly cut short through the interventions of unscripted characters. He didn’t like the ending at all, but what passed has passed.

“Hmph, how could they spoil the show like that?” he grumbled with his arms crossed over his chest. This momentarily feeling of grumpiness subsided and a demented smile crept onto his face. “Well, I guess we should’ve expected it,” he said with a shrug. He then turned to the direction of the battleground, which was now empty, and stared at a certain spot. “It just got more dangerous now that the Celestial Dragons have joined the fray. Seriously, why don’t they just leave the affairs of the lower world alone? Well, this makes for a more spectacular show so I guess it’s fine.”

“The gods have descended upon our world, but I will never waver in the face of the divine because my heart of darkness belongs only to you, my lord,” said Jao with a bow.

“Lord Aris, it appears that the United Front have also joined the fight,” reported Eron. “And they’re all evacuating the humans to the school.”

“The United Front?” said Aris disinterestedly. “Will that poor excuse of an organization ever leave us alone? Prince Nobi can shove it for all I care.”

“What should we do now?” asked Eron.

“Our mission as members of Ouroboros is to assert our supremacy over the weak human race, correct?” said Aris. His subordinates nodded their heads. “Then that means there is only one thing to do.” He turned to them and wore an innocent childlike smile that juxtaposed the very malice laced in the following order: “Kill them.”

Tatsuya ran towards the school with Aika and Arashi following close behind. He carried Shurai on his back the entire way and had given her some food that was left on the abandoned stands they passed by. He may not know exactly where his enemy is, but he does know that his enemy is the kind to watch him suffer from a place where he can get the best view. Just like how the best view of a symphony or an opera is from the second story, Tatsuya deduced that his enemy must also be located in a high place where he can watch everything unfold all at once. And the only place that would make sense is the school’s roof, the only place where one could see everything happening around the school unrestrictedly.

Arashi glanced over at Tatsuya and saw the serious expression he wore: grim and devoid of warmth, save for the burning fury inside of him that smoldered like an angry flame ready to become wildfire. She didn’t know all of the details, but it appears that whatever had happened couldn’t have been good. Especially if it caused her childhood friend to be pushed this far over the edge.

“Mizu took Dracolax,” said Aika in a quiet voice to her.

“What?” came Arashi in utter surprise.

“She had an incident where she took the drug,” elaborated the Draco princess. “She was already a scourge and would’ve caused untold horrors if I haven’t interfered to protect Darling from her attack. I don’t know what she was thinking, taking a drug like that. But it looks like Darling isn’t blaming her for what she did, though. He’s trying to find the one responsible for manipulating her to accept the drug.”

“So that’s why when I arrived with the Dragon Lotus Extract it was immediately given to her,” realized Arashi.

If only she had arrived quicker, maybe she could’ve helped too. Maybe Kanjomizu could’ve been helped sooner and the situation could’ve been resolved a bit better. Arashi quickly pushed those thoughts away once she realized how useless it was to think about ‘maybes’ when she really needs to focus on the ‘now’. Still, she was grateful at least that she was able to help in some way. It was thanks to that bottle of Dragon Lotus Extract she had found on the ground a little bit before she had arrived on the scene.

Prior to present events, Arashi and Aika were partnered up by Tatsuya and had left in one direction to aid in fighting off the scourges. All along the way, Aika moaned and groaned about not being with her Darling, which were really starting to get on Arashi’s nerves. “Why do I have to be partnered with you of all people?” she bemoaned for the seventh time. “Darling must hate me if he chose me to be your partner.”

Arashi twitched her right eye and she kindly placed a hand on the Draco princess’ shoulder. “I’m trying to play nice, but you’re really starting to push me over the edge. Now, either be a good girl or I’ll leave you here to fend for yourself while I run back to have Tatsuya all to myself,” she threatened Aika with a smile. “Either way, it’s a win-win situation for me. Having one last rival for Tatsuya’s heart will really boost me up in the rankings,” she added in a quasi-taunting manner.

Those words quickly snapped Aika back to her usual self. “As if I’ll let you do that!” she declared. She clenched her fist and shook it in front of Arashi’s face. “You’ll never steal Darling away from me, you devil woman!”

Arashi raised an eyebrow in a disgruntled expression and retorted back with, “I bet Tatsuya would be glad to be taken away from you and your crazed passion.”

“You devil woman!” repeated Aika like an impudent child.

“Sure, whatever,” brushed off Arashi with a shake of her head, “let’s get going. The faster we can complete this the happier I’ll be.”

“Finally, something we both can agree on,” stated Aika with a huff.

Both princesses continued onwards, the atmosphere between was more tense than a hero-villain team-up. They both noticed the presence of men and women dressed in black suits running around and helping the humans to evacuate. Many of them were also carrying brown leather bags slung across their shoulders. On their uniforms, the letters “UF” and a symbol of a dragon claw told the princesses exactly who they were: members of the United Front. The members that weren’t helping with the evacuation were doing everything they can to take down any scourge they come across. After a scourge had been safely immobilized, the members would open the brown bags and bring out a vial of pink liquid—Dragon Lotus Extract. Everywhere around them, the princesses witnessed just how dedicated and effective the United Front was in their mission to protect both the dragon and the human realms.

A roar above them drew their attention to the skies. A Bakunawa had spotted them and was quickly descending down to the ground. It landed with a thunderous boom and shook the ground around it. The dragon then opened its mouth and a beam of pure magic took shape. The magical beam shot out like a magnificent laser and was aimed straight for the princesses.

Aika held out her hands and responded with a stream of fire. Both energies collided and neutralized each other like black and white, however the force of the impact sent Aika a few steps backward. She then clenched both her fists and unleashed powerful blasts of fire at the scourge. The Bakunawa responded with graceful dodges, escaping the balls of fire with the elegance of a snake. It then lowered its head a bit and the red eye in the middle of its forehead began to glow dangerously. A bright red beam of pure energy shot out of the eye and traveled in a perfectly straight line for Aika.

Arashi stepped in and inhaled deeply. She then expelled a huge gust of wind from her mouth that disrupted the beam’s path and nullified it. She swung her right fist in front of her in a downward motion and a giant wave of air fell on top of the scourge and crushed it, forcing it to fall flat on its stomach on the ground. The scourge let out a painful screech.

‘I can’t let her have all the glory to herself,’ thought Aika enviously. Aika held out a hand in front of her and the ground below the Bakunawa immediately exploded, creating a giant hole that the scourge fell into. The impact with the lower ground under it knocked it out of commission. “That was good work if I do say so myself!” she declared to Arashi with a big content smile.

“Hooray,” praised Arashi sarcastically.

“Hey, can’t you be a little more happy that I helped?” asked Aika aggressively.

“Like I needed it,” quipped Arashi, rolling her eyes.

“Geez, you Quetzalcoatls are so annoying!” complained Aika.

“And you Dracos care too much about wanting attention!” snapped back Arashi. Annoyed with how things were escalating, Arashi brushed off the conversation with a wave of her hand and said, “This is boring. Let’s just get our mission done so that we can return to do more interesting things.”

“I wonder how people can deal with you Quetzalcoatls and your hard-to-satisfy attitude!” yelled Aika. “If things aren’t interesting enough for you, you just go on to the next thing without a care!”

“At least that’s better than you Dracos and your overly enthusiastic and passionate attitude over every little thing!” shot back Arashi. “It’s so annoying how you only focus on one thing and devote your entire time to it, even when its things that don’t even matter to other people!”

“Well at least we know how to devote ourselves to the things we love!” said Aika haughtily. “On the other hand, I especially hate your constant need to satisfy your boredom with anything you can find and how far you are willing to go to achieve it! You Quetzalcoatls are just a bunch of rebellious, rule-breaking delinquents who are willing to cross all the lines as long as you are satisfied with whatever it is you’re seeking! You have no shame and no morals!”

“At least we aren’t afraid to do it!” replied Arashi triumphantly. “But don’t think that you Dracos are any better! You are some of the most stubborn and obstinate beings in the universe! Your obsessive devotion to the one thing you are passionate about is annoying and disgusting! You don’t care what others think of you and it’s just plain embarrassing to see how far you guys are willing to go to protect your passions! How shameless can you be to defend your love for meaningless and stupid things?!”

Sparks were flying between them. Both princesses engaged in a very dangerous staring contest. They were so consumed by their own rage against each other that they weren’t aware of the presence of one of the United Front’s agents beside them. “Um, excuse me,” said the agent.

“What do you want?!” yelled Arashi and Aika in unison, turning to glare at their new guest.

The agent let out a squeal. “I-I-I’m sorry,” said the agent, bowing apologetically.

Arashi and Aika quickly realized their error and apologized to the agent for their behavior. “Did you need something?” asked Arashi kindly.

“Actually, I just wanted to thank you both for taking down this scourge,” said the agent, gesturing to the unconscious Bakunawa behind him. The agent then bowed and said, “Thank you very much for your help.”

“Ah, sure thing!” said Aika cheerfully.

“What are you going to do with it now?” asked Arashi.

The agent opened the bag slung around his shoulders and brought out a vial of pink liquid. “I’ll be feeding it this Dragon Lotus Extract,” the agent told them.

“Well, best of luck on your job,” said Arashi.

“Thank you!” said the agent with a smile. The agent was about ready to go administer the medicine when he remembered something. He turned back to the princesses and said, “I don’t know if you know this already, but Prince Nobi had lifted the restriction on using magic.”

“Alright!” whooped Aika. “This is going to be a cinch then if we can use magic!”

“Again, thank you for your help,” said the agent with a bow. He then turned around and left to go administer the medicine to the unconscious scourge. When he did, he had forgotten to close his bag back properly and a vial had slipped out while he was running towards his patient.

Meanwhile, Aika smelled a strange scent in the air. “Do you smell that?” she asked Arashi.

Arashi took a sniff and said, “Something’s not right.”

“This smell isn’t the scent of just any regular scourge,” said Aika with a grimace. Without another word, she immediately chased after the scent, leaving Arashi by herself.

“Hey, wait a min—,” attempted Arashi, but she was too late as Aika took a turn and disappeared from sight. She was ready to follow the Draco princess when the sight of something pink caught her eye. Lying in the grass a few inches away from her was a vial of Dragon Lotus Extract. She picked it up and looked around. ‘Who could’ve dropped this?’ she wondered to herself. Something told her to hold onto it, and so she took it with her as she chased after the same strange scent.

Aika followed the scent and arrived in the middle of a battle between a gigantic Naga and Shurai. Behind the Druk princess, she could see Tatsuya lying on the ground and covered in bruises. ‘What the hell happened?’ she thought anxiously to herself. Suddenly, the Naga spoke and Aika immediately recognized the voice. ‘Mizu?!’ she exclaimed in disbelief. She witnessed Kanjomizu forming a giant torrent of water and shooting it out of her mouth. Aika immediately stepped forward and shot out a stream of fire to neutralize the torrent. Now, with the restrictions on magic lifted, Aika engaged Kanjomizu in battle with magic.

Arashi arrived a little bit later after everything was settled. She saw Kanjomizu lying unconscious on the ground and wondered what had happened. Tatsuya was angry, Shurai was exhausted, Aika appeared to be unhappy, and there was someone else that Arashi had never seen before. She gave the vial of Dragon Lotus Extract she had procured to the mysterious new person and witnessed it being administered to Kanjomizu. Arashi had many questions, but they would have to wait—her focus has now shifted to support Tatsuya in his new quest to take out the mastermind behind all of this.

And that is where they are now. The group had finally arrived at the school building’s entrance. “I’m coming for you Aris,” said Tatsuya with a grimace.

Eron and Jao entered the school through the latter’s shadow portal. They were on the school’s second floor. “I smell them,” said Eron. “The smell of humans,” he muttered in disgust.

“Let us sacrifice them to the Holy Darkness so we can rule as kings!” said Jao dramatically.

“Sure…,” said Eron slowly in a slightly confused tone.

“The darkness within me is starving for their souls,” continued Jao. He then gripped his right arm and said, “Silence, darkness, for you shall receive your tribute soon enough! Come, Eron, we must satisfy the darkness so we can receive its blessing! Pray that the Holy Darkness answers our call!”

Eron ignored his partner while he was in the middle of his delusions and had already reached the middle of the hallway. He had no time to play around. He must succeed in this mission for his leader.

Jao had just realized his partner’s leave by the time he was finished and said, “Hey, wait for me!”

The two dragons had reached the other side of the hallway and saw a line of humans standing in wait for admission into a classroom. They’ve hit the jackpot. “Let’s get this done,” said Eron. “This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete.”

“Don’t get cocky now,” said a voice.

Eron turned to his partner and said, “What did you just say?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Jao replied. “It must be the voices of darkness that have spoken to you, my friend! Embrace it and you shall receive the powers of the Holy Darkness!”

“Argh, I don’t have time for your crap!” snapped Eron. “Who cares about the ‘Holy Darkness’ or the ‘righteous darkness’?” he mocked.

“They are not one and the same,” said Jao in a slightly-hurt tone. “The Holy Darkness is the master of all, a generous darkness that blesses those with a righteous and noble heart! The righteous darkness is a void that consumes those who disillusioned themselves by accepting the void’s temptations on a false path of righteousness!”

“I have no time for your delusions!” barked Eron. “Geez, why did I have to be partnered with an Amaru? It couldn’t have been a Quetzalcoatl or a Lindworm. At least those two tribes know how to get the job done!”

“Excuse me, boys, but let’s save the talking for after the battle,” came the same voice. Suddenly, a blow was dealt to Eron from behind and sent him flying into a wall. Jao was also dealt a blow and crashed into the opposite wall. The two dragons didn’t know who their enemy was but they appear to be pretty strong. Their enemy chose this moment to reveal themself. “Sorry, but you won’t be completing your mission any time soon,” said Sasuke, his Dragon Regalia in hand. “Thanks for the invisibility spell, Daiki,” he called behind him. Daiki suddenly appeared beside him with his own Dragon Regalia in hand too. Manami had also joined the fight and swung the blade of his Dragon Regalia around.

“Who are you?” asked Eron, brushing off the dust from his collision with the wall.

“We’re the ones who are going to stop you,” said Daiki matter-of-factly.

“I’m guessing that you are members of Ouroboros, correct?” asked Sasuke with a smile.

“And what about it?” replied Eron harshly.

“I have a few questions for you, that’s all,” said Sasuke darkly.

“So how are we going to split this up?” wondered Manami.

“I know how we can do it,” offered Eron with a grin. He rushed up towards Sasuke and Daiki with his shoulders forward like a charging bull and drove them crashing into a nearby classroom.

Manami, meanwhile, was caught off guard by Jao, who had recovered by now and had summoned his Dragon Regalia: a pair of smooth butterfly swords with obsidian black blades and golden yellow hilts. Jao had used the hilt of one his swords and unleashed a hefty jab to Manami’s stomach, sending him backwards and leaning forward. “That was dirty,” groaned Manami.

“The Holy Darkness has guided me so,” reasoned Jao with a smirk.

“To be honest with you, I dislike Amarus the most,” Manami told his enemy with a grin. He swung his kusarigama and wrapped it around Jao’s left arm. Manami then pulled his enemy close to him and unleashed a double kick to the Amaru’s ribs. Jao flew backwards and landed on the floor with a loud thud. “But even though I hate Amarus, your princess is still pretty hot,” added Manami with a small laugh.

Jao got back up and raised his butterfly swords, pointing them forward. Suddenly, hundreds of dark blades, the same as his butterfly swords but made entirely out of dark energy, appeared around him. Jao flashed Manami a smug smile and unleashed the volley of blades straight for him.

Manami swung his kusarigama to knock out many of the dark blades and dodged the rest as best as he could. One of the blades caught him in the back of his left shoulder, sending a shock through his body and causing him to fall on his knees. He sucked in his teeth in pain and dropped the blade of his kusarigama on the floor to pull out the dark blade that was buried in his shoulder. However, Jao wasn’t going to give him a breather anytime soon and took advantage of this situation by jumping forward and bringing his butterfly swords down like wooden stakes. Manami barely escaped death by swinging his kusarigama and striking Jao in the face with the side of his blade, knocking the Amaru backwards onto the ground. “This guys is as dirty as they come,” said Manami with a groan.

Jao got back up and brushed off the dust on his jacket and pants. “Don’t think that you can escape the judgement of the Holy Darkness!” said Jao grandly. He placed his left butterfly sword in his right hand and brought his left hand up to his eyepatch. “Shall I show you my true power? Are you prepared to bear witness to the cursed power within me that was blessed to me by the Holy Darkness?”

“Do what you want,” taunted Manami, getting back up. “I can take you down no matter what powers you use.” Though he may have said that, Manami was truly afraid. ‘Crap!’ he thought helplessly to himself, ‘If he reveals that eye, I’m going to lose for sure. I got to take him down here and now before he takes off that eyepatch.’

“Bear witness to the cursed power of the children of the Holy Darkness!” announced Jao, grabbing his eyepatch.

Before Jao could successfully lift his eyepatch, a blow from behind brought him down to his knees. “You should’ve talked less and focused more, nyan,” spoke a voice from behind him.

Manami was surprised to see who his savior was. “Toki Nekoyashi!” he exclaimed in surprise.

“Nyan!” greeted Nekoyashi. “I’m here to save the day, heh heh!” she told him. In her hand was a large guandao with a long black handle and a shiny green blade with serrated edges on one side and a golden engraving of a dragon etched on both sides. The weapon stood higher than five feet with the blade being barely five inches shorter than the school’s ceiling. It looked like a very heavy weapon, yet Nekoyashi held it like it was nothing.

Jao slowly rose up from off the ground and turned to face his new opponent. He brought his butterfly swords together and rubbed their edges together to produce a very terrifying metallic ‘shing’ sound—the same kind of sound produced when a knife or blade is being sharpened. “It appears that a new minion of the righteous darkness has arrived,” he said in a dark voice. “I will gladly use the powers of the Holy Darkness to send you back to your master, you minion of false righteousness!” he declared.

Nekoyashi jumped back and positioned her weapon like a spear with the blade aimed straight for the enemy. “Looks like its finally my time to show off my skills instead of just standing in the background, nyan,” she said with a determined smile.

Tatsuya and the others entered the school and climbed up the western staircase. Since they knew that the eastern wing will be filled with people waiting to be evacuated to safety, they used the western staircase so as not to interfere with that process. Additionally, it would make finding their enemy all the more quicker. They have reached the roof and Tatsuya forcefully pushed open the door.

The group walked out onto the roof. Above them, scourges still terrorized the skies, however there seemed to be fewer of them. Tatsuya carefully placed Shurai on the roof floor right next to the door. Shurai had recovered a little bit of her energy but she was still powerless for the most part. “T-Tatsu-kun,” she muttered, leaning against the wall behind her.

Tatsuya turned around to face the open roof and scanned his surroundings. At first he didn’t see anyone, but a second run-through made him notice a shadowy figure approaching him. ‘Aris,’ assumed Tatsuya threateningly.

The figure continued on walking towards the group, forcing Tatsuya and the others to literally stay on their toes. The figure eventually stepped out of the shadows and revealed themself to be none other than Council Historian Sanada Yukari. Her presence before them took Tatsuya by surprise. “Sanada Yukari?” he said, confused. ‘Just what the hell is going on?’ he asked himself.

“This is as far as you are go, Dragonborn,” said the Council Historian coolly.

“What are you doing here?” Tatsuya asked her suspiciously.

Yukari didn’t answer him. She touched her wrist and brought out her Dragon Regalia: a pair of brilliant icy blue stilettos with dangerously fine points. She then rushed forward with her weapons positioned to stab Tatsuya.

Aika and Arashi quickly brought out their Dragon Regalias too and quickly moved to protect Tatsuya. Aika wrapped her chain whip around Yukari’s arms and brought them together, immobilizing them. Arashi had an arrow nocked and aimed for the Council Historian’s head, ready to be released at any moment. Yukari gripped her stilettos tightly but couldn’t move her arms at all. “Try anything and I’ll burn you hotter than hell,” threatened Aika.

The sound of slow applause from behind the Council Historian shifted everyone’s focus to the presence of their new guest. Tatsuya recognized those slow claps anywhere. His enemy had finally appeared. Indeed, Aris appeared before them wearing a childish smile. “Can we dispense with the violence?” he suggested to the princesses. “I would like to keep her in one piece, thank you very much.”

Arashi and Aika exchanged glances and reluctantly relented. Yukari was freed from Aika’s chain and brought her arms to her side. She didn’t dare to attack in front of her leader. Aris walked up to her and said, “Now, now, Yukari, pray tell what you were trying to do.”

“If I can kill the Dragonborn now, you wouldn’t have to sully your hands, Lord Aris,” explained Yukari.

“Though I appreciate that, you don’t need to go that far,” said Aris kindly. He then placed a hand on her right cheek and caressed it. “I know that you are only thinking about what’s best for me,” he told her. He then grabbed her by the chin and forcefully brought her face close to his. He frowned and said, “I don’t need your help, alright? I’m your boss and all you need to do is follow my orders. If you stray from my orders again, I’ll have to punish you severely for your transgression. Now, be a good girl and stop trying to help me without asking.” With his other hand, he traced Yukari’s lips and smiled devilishly to himself. “Did you think that I wouldn’t be able to handle myself against the Dragonborn?” he asked her in a soft and calm voice. Yukari immediately shook her head no in answer to his question. “Let me tell you something, okay? The Dragonborn is mine and mine alone. Got that?” Yukari quickly nodded her compliance to his orders. He let go of the Okami and turned back to his enemies.

“What did you mean by again?” asked Tatsuya curiously.

“I’m sorry?” said Aris with an innocent tilt of his head.

“You said that she had strayed from your orders once before,” reminded Tatsuya.

“Ah right, that,” said Aris with a knowing chuckle. “She was the one responsible for hiring that dragon slayer to take your life,” revealed Aris carelessly with a shrug.

“Council Historian…Sanada Yukari…hired that dragon slayer?” repeated Tatsuya in disbelief.

“She did all that on her own too,” added Aris with a shake of his head. “I didn’t even put out that order. Don’t you hate it when your employees don’t follow your rules?”

“So you were the one responsible for pushing my Darling close to the brink of death?!” yelled Aika furiously, pointing a finger at Yukari.

“Ooh, I have a fun idea!” suggested Aris with a demented smile. “How about you girls fight it out while I have the Dragonborn to myself? I mean, you are here to battle me, correct? Owatatsumi Tatsuya?” said Aris with a tilt of his head.

Tatsuya shifted his focus back to Aris. True, he was here to battle it out with Aris and no one else. He nodded his head to the Yellow Terror.

“Good deal!” announced Aris excitedly. His face then darkened a bit as he said, “Yukari, you will fight against the princesses. Focus on taking them down and only them. You don’t have to kill them, though that is preferred, but just damage them enough so that they don’t oppose us ever again. That is an order.”

“Yes, Lord Aris,” complied Yukari.

“Now, Owatatsumi Tatsuya, shall we take our battle somewhere else?” suggested Aris in a gentlemanly manner. The Yellow Terror jumped into the air and traversed a great distance before landing on top of the school gymnasium’s roof.

Tatsuya was a little taken aback by the enemy’s power; how was he supposed to do that? “Tatsuya,” called Arashi, “I can get you there.”

“How?” he asked her.

“Just prepare yourself,” she told him. Tatsuya wasn’t sure where this was going. He saw Arashi holding out a hand in front of her and beginning to chant. Understanding now what she was doing, Tatsuya faced in the direction of the school gymnasium and got into a ready stance by bending his knees.

“Hear it on the winds, the call of his highness Quetzalcoatl! Bestow upon me your blessing and your power! Let the winds judge my enemy and propel them to a fate worthy of their deeds! Jet Stream Blast!” she chanted. A focused blast of wind shot out of her hand like a swirling cyclone and pushed Tatsuya into the air, propelling him froward in the direction of the school gymnasium.

Now that Tatsuya was out of the way, Arashi nocked another magic arrow and took aim. Aika, despite wanting to go with Tatsuya, gripped her chain tightly for battle—at least she will have the chance to take down the one responsible for her Darling’s injuries that day. Yukari, in compliance with her leader’s orders, brandished her stilettos and got into a ready stance. The three girls then engaged in battle.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya dashed through the sky like a shooting star. Flying through the air at such an incredible speed reminded him of those super fast rollercoasters he hated riding as a kid because they would always make him throw up once the ride was over. Actually, Tatsuya was feeling something building up in his throat right now. He forced it back down—how embarrassing would it be if he were to throw up right here and now while on the path to face his enemy? The roof of the school gymnasium finally came into view. As if understanding where he wanted to get off, the magic that propelled him began to slow down and its trajectory shifted downwards. This continued until Tatsuya could touch the roof with his own feet and he managed to land without trouble.

“My, you took quite some time to get here,” said Aris. He was sitting down on the roof like a little kid, waiting for Tatsuya all this time. “But now that you’re here,” he said, getting back up on his feet, “let’s begin the show!” He touched his wrist and brought out his Dragon Regalia: a pair of shiny light gold hook swords with dragon-shaped hilts and long spiked-tipped heads. “Shall we get started?” said the Yellow Terror. Tatsuya got into his fighting stance. “My, no weapon?” asked Aris in a mocking disappointed voice.

“I’ll show you that I don’t need a weapon to take you down,” said Tatsuya confidently.

Aris shrugged his shoulders and then dashed forward. His movements were too quick for Tatsuya to process and the Yellow Terror swung his left sword at the Dragonborn’s stomach and sent him flying back. Tatsuya fell on his back with a hard thud. He rose back up on his feet and gripped his stomach with a stifled groan. Aris appeared to be enjoying seeing Tatsuya like this and nodded his approval with an evil smile. He then rushed forward again and attempted to use his speed to his advantage like before.

However, Tatsuya saw this coming and instinctively used his warrior’s intuition that he had developed from a young age to detect his enemy’s presence. He could sense Aris coming at him on the right and immediately executed Technique 24: Dragon’s Bite—a powerful focused punch that relies on speed and force, aimed at the enemy’s stomach. His attack struck Aris right in the center of his bowels, sending the Yellow Terror backwards close to the edge of the roof.

Aris couldn’t believe it. He had taken a very hard hit from his enemy. The feeling of facing his enemy’s strength head on and understanding what it is lit something inside of him. He wasn’t angry or surprised or disappointed. No, he was actually happy…ecstatic! Yes, he was feeling a rush of good feelings washing over him. He was happy, but also pissed off at the same time. And it was this certain feeling that lets him know exactly that the enemy he was facing against was indeed a worthy one. He is going to enjoy this battle, and he is going to absolutely enjoy killing his enemy. Feeling fulfilled and refreshed from that last attack, Aris quickly dashed forward once again and brought his swords in front of him. And then, just like the madman he is, he unleashed a flurry of attacks with his swords. The attacks were random and chaotic without form nor reason—the perfect method fitting a maniac. “Don’t try to get cocky, Dragonborn!” he declared while still attacking. He put on a very manic smile and added, “Just because you got a hit on me doesn’t mean that you'll win! This is just the beginning, but I’ll be your end!”

Tatsuya dodged and parried those attacks as best as he could but he got hit with many of them. There was absolutely no way for him to protect himself from this frenzy. His face, neck, and hands were quickly being covered in cuts and slashes. The sharp stinging pain of each hit sent shocks through Tatsuya’s body, but it wasn’t any more painful than a needle prick. Despite Tatsuya’s nigh-superhuman endurance thanks to years of conditioning his body through the practice of martial arts, he could feel his strength eroding away with each hit. It wouldn’t be long before his body gives up and he falls to his knees in defeat.

Aris, however, relished in his relentless assault on the Dragonborn. He’s literally consumed with ecstasy and joy! Watching his enemy gradually becoming helpless before him and succumbing to his torture is very gratifying. As he struck the Dragonborn wildly more and more, he could already see his enemy being degraded into a dog. “Just try to escape me now!” taunted the Yellow Terror. He briefly stopped his attack and raised one of his sword in a position ready to be thrown.

Tatsuya took notice of his enemy’s change in attack tactic and quickly jumped back with his arms across his body in defense.

Aris threw the sword. However, he knew that this would happen (he did plan for it after all) and used his other sword to hook in between the hilt of the one in the air. This was his way of both toying with the enemy and showing the enemy that he is indeed better than them in every way.

The expected attack didn’t come and that surprised Tatsuya. Here he was, guarding against what should’ve been a projectile attack aimed at him, but it didn’t happen at all the way he expected it. In a brief lapse of better judgement, Tatsuya brought his arms down and let down his guard. That’s when Aris chose to strike. The Yellow Terror had calculated this attack perfectly and now swung his linked swords at the Dragonborn, striking him in the ribs and sending him flying backwards. Tatsuya fell on his front with a thud and a painful groan.

Aris took this chance to continue his assault. He rushed forward with both his swords crossed above his head, ready to be brought down on the Dragonborn’s head. However, when he executed the attack by jumping into the air and bringing his weapons down on the fallen hero, a miracle happened.

Even though Tatsuya was down on the ground and defenseless, he wasn’t at all out of luck. A familiar glow emanated from his right hand and the Mark of Marduk appeared. It projected out its usual invisible barrier and stopped Aris’ attack completely, protecting Tatsuya’s life from death.

Aris was forced back by the barrier and landed on his knee. “I almost forgot about that fact,” he said to himself with an unflattering scowl. A demented smile quickly replaced that scowl. “It doesn’t matter,” he decided, “If I can’t kill you, I’ll just break you!” He then ran up for another attack.

Tatsuya slowly got back up on his feet. He looked up to see Aris leaping into the air with his swords in a stabbing position. His body was aching and his strength was almost depleted. The wounds on his body burned as the wind grazed against it as it passed by. Tatsuya seriously didn’t want to do anything else now—he just wants to lay down and sleep. However, he couldn’t surrender, not now. After all, it was Aris who masterminded this attack on the human realm…and it was him who was responsible for manipulating Kanjomizu to take that godforsaken drug. ‘Mizu,’ he said to himself, ‘That’s right. This is all for her. That bastard’s got to pay for everything he’s done.’ With renewed vigor powered by an overwhelming desire to make Aris pay for all that he has done, Tatsuya summoned strength in his legs and jumped into the air. He was within range of Aris and executed Technique 33 Modified: Forward Dragon Rush Aerial Form—two consecutive forward kicks to the opponent’s abdomen while in the air. His attack connected with the Yellow Terror and sent him back down hard onto the rooftop floor.

Aris immediately got back up and was ready to execute his next attack when Tatsuya beat him to the punch. Not wanting to let his enemy have a chance to recover, Tatsuya had dashed forward and quickly executed Technique 32: Spinning Dragon Tail-Whip—a horizontal spinning side kick to the opponent’s ribcage. Aris suffered immense damage from that attack and was forcefully pushed to the side. Tatsuya took this moment to combo up and jumped into the air once again to execute Technique 54: Rolling Dragon Tail Strike—a high somersault kick to the opponent’s head and/or face. Aris, still a little dazed from the last attack but still functioning, quickly noticed Tatsuya’s aerial assault and brought his swords together above his head to shield himself from the attack. Tatsuya’s feet landed on the swords and he summoned more strength to push down on his enemy. However, Aris was able to match Tatsuya’s force with his own. In the end, the dragon won the battle of endurance with his upper-level strength and pushed Tatsuya off of him.

Tatsuya landed back down on the ground a few feet away. “I’m not finished yet,” he told the Yellow Terror. “I’m going to make you pay for everything you’ve done.”

“Really?” asked Aris in between breaths. “How’s the Naga princess?” he asked tauntingly, “Is she faring well? I do hope she doesn’t die soon.”

Those words pushed Tatsuya over the edge. “You have the nerve to laugh about people dying?!” he roared.

“I don’t care about people,” Aris spat back. “You want to know what I care about? Do you really want to know why I’m in this organization anyway?” asked Aris rhetorically.

“For your antiquated ideals of dragon supremacy,” answered Tatsuya in a disgusted tone.

Aris simply laughed at that answer. His laugh echoed through the skies—the crazed laugh of a madman. He appeared to be greatly enjoying himself with that answer. It tickled him and infected him with much needed hysteria to relieve him of the stress of battle.

However, this laugh greatly unsettled Tatsuya. He didn’t know why, but the madman’s laughter sent a chill down his spine. He knew that Aris was deranged but to have this effect on him just by laughing was unnatural and ungodly. ‘Is this what my old man was warning me about?’ he thought to himself, thinking back to what Ryujin had told him that night.

“I thank you for that little joke, Owatatsumi Tatsuya,” said Aris, calming his laughter. He then put on a very disturbing and demented smile. “This battle is getting really drawn out, don’t you agree?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe I should just end it here and now.” He dropped his swords on the ground and snapped his right hand.

Suddenly, Tatsuya felt the tibia in his left leg snap. He cried out in pain as a very painful shock stung his entire body. He fell down on his left knee. The pain was too great for him to bear; it was unlike any other kind of pain he ever felt in his life. He had fractured his bones before, but he never ever had any of them broken completely. This new pain seriously made him want to die. His blood pressure rose and his heart was beating a hundred miles per second. There are no words that can describe how excruciatingly painful this experience was.

“You know something,” said Aris, tapping his chin with the same disturbing and demented smile. “I think you would look better symmetrical!” he announced in a childlike tone. He snapped his right hand once again.

Tatsuya heard another snap and a rush of pain washed over his entire body. His right tibia snapped and he fell to his knees. Once again, the pain was too great for him to bear and he prayed for his death to come. His body was suffering and there was nothing he could to alleviate it. Now, both of his legs were out of commission. Tatsuya’s breathing had become haggard and his head became light and faint.

Aris walked up to Tatsuya with his swords back in his hands. He swung his left sword at Tatsuya’s face and left a very nasty gash that stretched from his right ear to his lips. Aris then jabbed his right sword into Tatsuya’s stomach, forcing the Dragonborn to bend over with a painful groan. The blood from Tatsuya’s right cheek fell to the floor in a massive waterfall. Aris took his left sword and carefully scooped up a few drops of the blood with the blade. He then brought the blade to his mouth and licked the blood. “I never knew that humans were so tasty,” he said with an ecstatic chuckle. He dropped his swords once again and picked up Tatsuya’s head with his left hand. “You know something?” he began with merciless eyes, “I never really liked heroes in the first place. I’ve always believed them to be self-righteous bastards who are idolized by idiots. That goes for you too.” He then proceeded to continuously knee Tatsuya’s face while maniacally laughing giddily to himself. “How’s this, hero? Having fun yet? Is this what you wanted all along? You’ve tried to be the hero but you failed miserably! Heroes never prosper! Hahahahaha!”

Tatsuya’s face became more and more bloodied with each knee. His vision was already blurring and his consciousness was giving up on him. There was no way for him to escape this hell. He had been utterly defeated with no chance to turn things around. This was the end for him.

Satisfied with his torture play, Aris finished it off by throwing Tatsuya’s face hard into the ground with his superhuman strength. The Dragonborn lied there in front of him, motionless and on the verge of death. “You may not die, Dragonborn, but you will break,” said Aris smugly. “In fact, I’ve already broken you!” Aris picked up his two swords and pointed them downwards. And then, just like the merciless maniac he is, he forcefully thrusted his swords into each of Tatsuya’s lifeless arms, nailing them down to the rooftop. He picked up Tatsuya’s head once again and could see that the Dragonborn was still somewhat conscious. “Do you surrender, Owatatsumi Tatsuya?” he asked the Dragonborn dementedly.

Tatsuya didn’t want to admit it. He really wanted to beat this enemy for everything that was going wrong with the world. But he failed. A tear formed in his right eye and trickled down his cheek. ‘I’m sorry, everyone,’ said Tatsuya, hanging his head in shame. And with his last breath before succumbing to his pain and blacking out, Tatsuya said the very last words he would ever say to a person like Aris: “I surrender.”