Chapter 379: The Dragon Empress
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Within the hanging gardens, in the same room that Darius had beaten Hyato in just a few short days before, a minor ripple in space appeared that three figures walked through, Shizuku, Kurumu, and Kuroka. The nekomata used her touki to quickly scan the area for enemies, her expression unusually serious as they prepared for the rescue mission.
In an instant she used Spatial magic to seal the area immediately around the Hanging Gardens, preventing any kind of communication from leaving or entering, while Kurumu quickly placed a powerful illusion to prevent anyone outside from realizing that something was going on in the castle.
Their preparations complete, the trio then headed out to accomplish their mission, to retrieve Edith so that Alex could be able to fight without having to worry about her getting caught in the crossfire.
As they wandered the halls they passed several people hurrying as they tried to ready themselves for an attack, none of which even noticed them thanks to the trio being the best amongst Alex's peerage at hiding themselves.
Eventually Kuroka turned her attention someplace above as she appeared as if she was looking through the walls, before she said, "Found her."
With Kuroka's lack of verbal ticks indicating exactly how tense the current situation was, both Kurumu and Shizuku readied themselves as they prepared to face whoever would be against them. Space then rippled around them once more as Kuroka brought them directly to the room where Edith was being kept, bringing them face-to-face with a group of four men gathered around her, two of which were familiar.
"KITTY!" Edith happily cried out before anyone could say anything, earning her a smile from Kuroka before she said,
"Don't worry Edith, we'll take you to see mommy and daddy now~Nya!" Purposely adding her verbal tick at the end, Kuroka also winked at the little girl to help keep her happy before the battle for her began. When he heard that the red haired flamboyant man began to snicker and was about to tell Kuroka to stop dreaming when something happened that none of hem were expecting.
"Such grace, elegance, and feline beauty! Please, tell me your name!" Sebastian declared as he suddenly took one of Kuroka's hands into his own, his gaze filled with infatuation as he focused on her multitude of tails and cat ears.
Kuroka's brows twitched in obvious annoyance, as she spat at him, "Kuroka...." Sebastian gasped at her voice dramatically, before saying as he looked into her eyes,
"Kuroka, will you please marry me?"
SLAM!
When they heard those words several people in the room fell to their sides in shock, while the flamboyant man quickly ran up to Sebastian and demanded,
"You're cheating on me little Sebas?! I thought we had something special!" Sebastian directed a look of blatant disgust at the man, Grell Sutcliff, and stated without any hesitation,
"What we 'have' is my mistress's orders, nothing more. If it wasn't for her then you'd never have even gotten close to me to begin with!" With their contract making all of Alice's orders absolute to him, Sebastian had no choice but to act out every single boys love e.r.o.t.i.c fantasy she could come up, making her his least favorite contractor to date. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew her soul would be more delectable than any other he had ever had, or would ever find, he probably would've voided their contract long ago.
That was why Sebastian had no problem verbally abusing the crestfallen Grell, before turning his attention back to the most amazing being to have ever crossed his path, Kuroka. Seeing his sincere gaze and pleading eyes, Kuroka flashed Sebastian the sweetest smile she could manage before saying in an even sweeter voice,
"Get your filthy f.u.c.k.i.n.g hands off of me." Before anyone even had time to register what she said, each of Kuroka's nails on the hand that Sebastian was holding extended into long and lethal claws, piercing through his suit and c.h.e.s.t as if they were paper.
"Gah!" Sebastian coughed up a mouth full of blood as Kuroka's claws literally shredded his heart and lungs, before she used her hold to slowly raise him up to a standing position once more. She then slowly raised up her foot until it was level with his sternum, before planting it onto him and sending Sebastian flying into the wall behind him, caving in the stone on impact.
"Yay! Go kitty! Go kitty!" Edith cheered happily after Kuroka sent Sebastian flying, while Grell quickly rushed to his side despite Sebastian's cruel words less than a moment before, and cried out,
"My darling Sebas! You'll pay for that you hussy of a thieving cat!" As he shouted at her the other two people in the room began moving as if to fight, Natsu and Gajeel, the former's arms flickering with a dark demonic flame.
Both of them looked at Kuroka and the others with unwavering hostility, and no sign of recognition in their eyes. Kuroka just eyed them as both Shizuku and Kurumu readied themselves beside her as well, the latter holding back her laughter from the previous scene, and said,
"Time to teach all of you a lesson~Nya!"
Meanwhile, in the shadows nearby, Paul was watching the entire thing play out, his gaze cold and calculative.
He had already tried, and failed, to reach the Dark Emperor and alert him to the intruders, which told him they had severely underestimated their opponents if they were capable of instantly blocking telekinetic communications. With their response being completely outside his expectations, instead of trying to secure Edith, Paul decided that it might be in his best interests to wait this battle out and see who the victor was. After all, he specialized in assassination and intelligence gathering, not direct combat. His Energy Absorption ability was only for a last resort against opponents like these, and the last thing he wanted was to bring the ire of someone who was as powerful as Alex directly down onto he himself.
Without another thought regarding the safety of his supposed 'comrades', Paul then turned around and made to leave the Hanging Gardens as he awaited the battle's conclusion.
***
"Tell you what, become my woman now and I won't have to beat you into submission." Anne's eyes narrowed at his proposal, before she held up her left hand to show off the golden band on her ring finger and replied,
"I'm already happily married, so screw you!" Calvin's brow twitched just ever so slightly when he heard that, before he snorted back,
"If it's the guy back there, then you can forget about it. Once Darius is done with him he'll have no choice but to obey anything we tell him, even if it means giving up some of his so-called 'wives'." Since the plan was already to have Alex give up Rias once he inevitably joined them, then there'd be no issue with making him give up another one or two of his women along with her while the rest would still be used for breeding.
Naturally, Anne's expression darkened when she heard that as she recalled the one man's apparent infatuation with Rias. Though she wanted to go off on the man regarding his pig headedness, Anne ultimately held her tongue since there'd be no point when the other party willingly practiced and took advantage of commercial slavery.
Instead, she then began to draw in a long drawn out breath, putting Calvin on alert even before she cried out,
"SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!"
Calving wyes widened as he watched the destructive cyclone of wind rapidly approach him, forcing him to immediately release a blast of fire from his hands and feet in order to move out of the way fast enough, but even then it wasn't enough.
"Ngh..." Calvin let out a muted groan as the cyclone just barely grazed his upper right bicep, shredding the clothes over it and even going as far as sending him back a short ways before he was able to stabilize the vortex of air he used to fly.
Glancing back at Anne once he was stable once more, Calvin smirked before remarking,
"Looks like my bending is gonna be useless here, good thing I always had a plan B and C prepared!" As there was always the chance of encountering someone who wouldn't be effected by the power of the four elements at his disposal, Calvin had prepared for this with the two swords on his hip. Though he technically still could've used fire or water, there was no telling if Anne had other slayer elements at her disposal as well as sky, so it was best to use a weapon that didn't rely entirely on elements instead.
He then grabbed the handle of the old looking katana on his hip before drawing the sword out, making Anne's eyes go wide as she recognized the sword he drew.
"Tessaiga...." She breathed in an barely audible voice, nostalgia filling her despite the current situation as she recalled one of the few animes she had ever watched, Inuyasha.
The sword itself was impossibly deceptive compared to how it appeared when it was sheathed. Extending as long as a person was tall, the blade itself was curved to resemble a dog's fang while the guard between the handle and blade was covered with some moderately long ivory colored fur.
Calvin smirked victoriously as he watched Anne's reaction to his Tessaiga, his upper lip curling up slightly to reveal his teeth as he declared,
"Last chance, submit now or I'll have to get a bit nasty with you." Looking back at the man himself, Anne's expression hardened once more while she also retained her alertness towards the weapon before her.
Though not as powerful as certain other weapons, Tessaiga was still a powerful sword in its own right while also being able to gain new attacks to become even stronger after defeating certain opponents. Despite recognizing the sword and knowing its initial attacks, Anne had no idea what the sword in Calvin's hands was actually capable of, making her even more alert than she was before.
Taking her extended silence as yet another refusal, Calvin shrugged and said as he used both hands to ready the massive sword,
"Very well, I gave you a chance so don't blame me for your suffering." Then, without any hesitation, Calvin swung the great sword in the empty air at Anne's general direction, while also crying out,
"'Wind Scar'!"
Just barely escaping the path of the 'Wind Scar', Anne didn't have any time to rest as Calvin quickly fired off another attack at her, before following that one up with yet another attack.
Anne's brow twitched in annoyance as she realized that, unlike Inuyasha when he had first started using the 'Wind Scar', Calvin was able to use it repetitively without the conditions that had originally been required to use it, which Inuyasha had only been able to do once the blade was reforged.
Of course she didn't have much time to think about how to counter the destructive attacks being aimed at her, each of which were claimed to have been able to eliminating one hundred Youkai with a single strike, as Anne began a dangerous dodging game while Calvin lazily fired off 'Wind Scar' after 'Wind Scar' at her. She was only able to weave through the destructive attacks carving their way through the air, until she noticed a very brief opening in calving barrage of attacks.
Taking this moment to strike, Anne quickly took in another deep breath before crying out for the second time,
"SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!"
As yet another dangerous cyclone of razor sharp wind hurtled towards him however, this time Calvin didn't even try to dodge. Instead, a victorious smirk appeared on his lips.
Waiting until the cyclone was right about to hit him, Calvin quickly raised his sword once more and prepared to swing it, making Anne realize her mistake too late.
"'BACKLASH WAVE'!"
Calvin cried out as he used what initially appeared to be another 'Wind Scar', except, with his impeccable timing, the normally destructive attack combined with Anne's own roar as both were reflected right back at her as a series of devastating twisters. Anne could only watch as a cyclone of wind and energy more powerful than any she could use bared down on her.
Mustering up every single bit of her will and strength, Anne reached out her hands and 'grabbed' the cyclone of power with them, using everything she had to try and hold the attack back while the other twisters closed in on her.
Her mind began racing as she desperately tried to figure out what to do before the series of twisters ripped her to shreds, until Jenny's voice suddenly shouted in her mind,
'ANNE, REMEMBER THAT YOU'RE A SKY SLAYER!'
Anne's mind temporarily blanked at the words, before she recalled that yeah, she WAS a sky slayer. She then opened her mouth, and proceeded to try and consume the twister fighting her hold.
Calvin however was smirking confidently and victoriously as he watched his attacks close in on Anne, his victory already confirmed in his mind. She may end up battered and beaten, but as long as she was alive though Darius would be able to heal up her wounds without any issue.
The thing Calvin was excited about though, was the fact that Anne was obviously another reincarnator like Alex. Though they did toy with the idea that others might've been with him when discussing strategies, none of them could confirm if that had actually been the case until now.
Calvin was lost in the thoughts of his good fortune, until he suddenly noticed something that was going on, there was no sounds of destruction to accompany his 'Backlash Wave' like usual. Instead, if he strained his ears, he could only hear the sounds of ravenous chewing.
Turning his attention back to Anne, Calvin watched in shock as Anne 'ate' each of the twisters formed by his 'Backlash Wave', until none of them were left. Normally this would be impossible since they were filled with her own energy, as slayers couldn't eat their own magic, however since the 'Backlash Wave' was combination of both of their energies she was able to circ.u.mvent this to eat it all.
What happened next was something neither of them could predict though, as after she swallowed the last little bit of Calvin's attack, Anne felt a pulse of power surge through her body.
THUMP!
THUMP!
With her body pulsing with energy, Anne opened her eyes to direct a fierce glare at Calvin, who paled when he saw that her pupils had changed into reptilian slits, while a series of scales had formed on her face and her hair began transitioning to pink.
Calvin couldn't even react as Anne suddenly appeared right in front of him, and slammed her hand into his gut while it was shaped like a claw.
"Sky Dragon's Claw!"
Anne cried out as the full force of her enhanced strength and wind slammed into Calvin, sending him flying back as blood spurted from his mouth, and the vortex of air that he was using to maintain flight was dispersed.
The hit was so intense, that Calvin was sent all the way down to the ocean, while his Tessaiga slipped from his grasp, and began sinking into the dark waters below. Though he could easily retrieve it, Anne didn't give him the chance to.
Instead she pressed her attacks continuously, each of her movements generating massive waves in the ocean each time she would try to bombard the area that Calvin was in with powerful wind based attacks. Naturally Calvin tried to use his water bending to try and negate as much of the effects of her attacks as possible, before he tried to send a series of ice spikes at her.
Anne practically snorted at Calvin's attempt to attack her, as each of the ice spikes froze in midair from her 'Telekinesis', before turning them to face him instead.
"Oh shit..." Calvin muttered to himself before he forced the deadly spears of ice to melt right before they could hit him.
Realizing that his decision against using the other elements earlier had been the correct one, Calvin then figured that, in the face of Anne's newly awakened might, he might have to resort to his plan C.
Slowly the currents around him began to freeze until he had created a sizable platform of ice to stand on, where he became an easier target for Anne to attack. Though it was fairly obvious that he was up to something, Anne didn't seem to care as she swiftly approached him once more for another round of attacks.
Calvin took a deep breath and waited, time seeming to slow from his perspective as Anne approached him, his hand gripping the handle of his second katana in a tight yet loose hold. Then, with instincts he had trained while learning to master the four elements under his control, Calvin quickly unsheathed his sword and swept it in a quick attack, earning him a quiet cry of pain due to having managed to hit Anne's hand with it.
"Gotcha!" Calvin muttered, now one hundred percent convinced of his victory, no matter what other cards Anne possibly had.
Anne meanwhile was clutching her hand with a pained expression, which had a small cut on the palm that was green with what appeared to be infection. She then glanced up at the sword that was still in Calvin's hand, which had runes running along the blade and glowed with a peculiar green light.
In an instant her Dragon Force transformation came undone as the green infection in the cut on her hand began to slowly spread, painfully dissolving any flesh it came into contact with. Calvin however, while battered and bruised, slowly paced around her victoriously before explaining,
"My trump card, Bakusaiga. It's a sword that dissolves all organic matter that it comes into contact with and nullifies any and every regenerative or healing ability. The only option left available if you want to live is to remove your arm before the infection spreads, and then plead with Darius to restore it later. So, what do you think about my offer now?"
Wholeheartedly believing that he had already won, Calvin looked down on the still kneeling Anne with a victorious smirk as he awaited her answer, fully believing that she'd accept becoming his woman with her own life now forfeit otherwise.
Anne however hadn't lost hope yet, as she desperately tried using every form of healing available to her to try and slow the infection dissolving her flesh, despite how painful it was. However, true to Calvin's gloating, nothing she tried worked. Sky Slayer magic, Regeneration magic, the stores of God Water on her, Phoenix Tears, nothing.
Instead she slowly and painfully lost her fingers one by one, before the infection began crawling up her arm, and was almost to her elbow. As Calvin said before, there was only one way to stop the spread, but after that Anne's ideas differed from his.
Gritting her teeth, Anne held out the stump that use to be her right hand to the side, making Calvin think she accepted his offer to cut it off. But, before he could approach her, he suddenly found his entire body being f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y restrained by some invisible force.
"You can stay right there!" Anne snapped at him forcefully, before she then began to use her 'Telekinesis' to pull on her own arm at the shoulder.
What followed was the most intense pain that Anne had ever experience, even dwarfing the infection making its way up her arm, as she felt the muscles in her shoulder tearing, the joints popping, and the skin ripping.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The pain was so great that Anne cried out like a dying animal even as she continued the exceedingly painful process of ripping her own arm off, before the limb was finally removed with a spray of blood and bits of her flesh dyeing the ice platform that Calvin had made red. The man himself though could stare in horrific awe at the scene, never once imagining that Anne would choose such a painful route rather than accept his terms.
Though it took several minutes, eventually Anne stood up and turned to face Calvin, her expression showing pain and exhaustion like she'd never felt before as her bloody stump continued to bleed freely. Then, in a show of how little Calvin's previous offer meant to her, Anne lifted her left hand towards the stump that used to be her right, and began using what little energy she had left to channel Regeneration magic into it.
Calvin watched with increasingly wide eyes as the torn flesh of Anne's arm slowly began to regenerate from the shoulder down, muscle, bone, and skin growing without a single blemish, right down to the fingernails.
Though her injuries were healed, Anne still felt the occasionally phantom sensations of pain as her body tried to adjust to the fact that it had just regained the arm she had f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y removed. So, despite having healed all her injuries, Anne still looked like hell with drops of blood dotting her brown skin, and sweat running down the majority of her body.
She ignored it though as she look back at Calvin, and said,
"Now, I'm going to do something to you that I probably should've started with, but never wanted to do to another person." Before Calvin could ask what she meant, he suddenly let out a blood curdling scream as each of his fingers started bending backwards until they broke, one by one.
Anne then slowly and meticulously used her 'Telekinesis' to break and crush every part of Calvin's body that she could, before slowly ripping the limbs off once they had been destroyed beyond repair. By the time she had finished, Calvin's body was left in numerous bloody and pulpy pieces scattered across the ice sheet, before they eventually began to crumble into dust and fade away in the wind.
"Never mess with the Dragon Empress..." Anne muttered to his vanishing remains, before she suddenly felt a massive amount of energy in the distance.
Knowing that Alex was starting to move since Shizuku had alerted them to their retrieval of Edith as she was killing Calvin, Anne unhesitantly transferred herself to Asora to let her husband take care of the rest. There she found those who hadn't gone to war gathered under a giant projection that showed the various battles that were still taking place, with the center screen showing a chained Alex in his SSJ2 transformation.
Most of the people's attention though was on a certain scene taking place in the middle of the crowd, where Gabriel was clinging onto Edith while fighting back her hysterics, a profound sense of relief filling her that her daughter was safely returned home.
"What'd I miss?" Anne asked with tiredness evident in her voice, alerting people to her presence as they quickly cleared a path for her, awe in their gazes.
Everyone knew her of course because she created the emergency response team and ran the hospital of Asora, but the fight they had just witnessed had changed many perspectives on her as no one knew just how brutal Anne could be if pushed far enough. The silence stretched for a moment or two, before a voice suddenly spoke up,
"Are none of you going to answer your empress?" Everyone parted as Barakiel approached Anne, who had stayed behind to help organize everything. He then directed a glare to those around him before barking,
"We're you all also planning to just leave her there after the battle she'd just been through?! MOVE!" At his final command several people began moving to get Anne a seat to rest, as well as something to eat and drink.
Snorting at them, Barakiel then turned his attention back to Anne and said, "Edith has been returned and most of those who went out to fight have returned as well after eliminating their targets. Now there's only Alex and a few groups left fighting, like the ones who went to the Alverez Empire."
Anne nodded in acknowledgement at Barakiel's briefing of the situation, while busy trying to get a drink of water after some was brought to her. It was at this moment, when the tension finally started leaving her body, that she along with most of those around her were suddenly thrown to the ground as Asora started shake.
"Earthquake?!" Barakiel cried out in astonishment, due to none of their sensors having detected seismic activity in the immediate area before. However he quickly learned that wasn't the case when he suddenly received a call from one of his subordinates.
"SIR! OUR SENSORS ARE DETECTING SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN ALL OF ASORA, NOT JUST THE SURROUNDING REGION!" Barakiel's eyes widened in shock at the information, before the subordinate then continued,
"WE'RE ALSO READING THAT THE MIST BOUNDARY HAS BEGAN EXPANDING AT AN ALARMING RATE! ASORA'S ALREADY GROWN TO MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS SIZE!" Barakiel was silent in shock at the information as he slowly turned to look at the screen showing Alex's battle, along with the few others who weren't desperately trying to maintain their footing.
In it, Alex was completely engulfed by a massive golden aura that almost looked like a miniature golden sun, concealing what was evident to be a transformation within until there was finally a brilliant flash of bright light.
When the light finally cleared, and everyone could see what was happening on the other side, they all gaped in awe at what they saw, with Alex's figure having undergone several subtle changes, and the only drastic one being that his golden hair now flowed down past his b.u.t.t. Obviously, he had finally obtained the form he had been trying to achieve for a long time, the Super Saiyan 3.
"OH COME ON!" Shias voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's gaze to her location where she had just arrived with those who had also gone to attack the Alverez Empire, along with the unconscious forms of August, Brandish, and Irene. Instead of appearing pleased with their victory though, Shia only looked at the image of Alex's new form with despair, knowing exactly who he was going to choose as a sparring partner as he tried to master it.
The tension there reached an all-time high though, as Alex's voice suddenly came through the projection,
"Here I come."
***
"Here I come." Alex told the trio before him, before there was a concussion of sound as both Hyato and Alice were practically blown away just from Alex suddenly moving between them, until he was in front of the Dark Emperor.
Darius didn't even have time to widen his eyes in surprise, before he suddenly felt an incredible pain in his stomach, and looked down to see Alex's hand literally buried in his guts. He then shuddered as he felt Alex's hand move inside him, wrapping around his spine before the man himself said,
"That's interesting, I didn't think someone that had to steal another man's daughter would have a spine..... I guess I'll have to remedy that." While simultaneously using Spirit magic to temporarily sever the connection between Darius and Fairy Heart to extend the time it'll take him to heal, Alex then proceeded to literally rip Darius's spine out through his stomach.
The Dark Emperor then fell to the churning surf below them, his limp body struggling to heal after being forcefully severed from his source of power for the second time in less than 24 hours.
Alex then turned his attention towards the duo left as they watched him in horrified awe, before saying,
"Next?"
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Within the hanging gardens, in the same room that Darius had beaten Hyato in just a few short days before, a minor ripple in space appeared that three figures walked through, Shizuku, Kurumu, and Kuroka. The nekomata used her touki to quickly scan the area for enemies, her expression unusually serious as they prepared for the rescue mission.
In an instant she used Spatial magic to seal the area immediately around the Hanging Gardens, preventing any kind of communication from leaving or entering, while Kurumu quickly placed a powerful illusion to prevent anyone outside from realizing that something was going on in the castle.
Their preparations complete, the trio then headed out to accomplish their mission, to retrieve Edith so that Alex could be able to fight without having to worry about her getting caught in the crossfire.
As they wandered the halls they passed several people hurrying as they tried to ready themselves for an attack, none of which even noticed them thanks to the trio being the best amongst Alex's peerage at hiding themselves.
Eventually Kuroka turned her attention someplace above as she appeared as if she was looking through the walls, before she said, "Found her."
With Kuroka's lack of verbal ticks indicating exactly how tense the current situation was, both Kurumu and Shizuku readied themselves as they prepared to face whoever would be against them. Space then rippled around them once more as Kuroka brought them directly to the room where Edith was being kept, bringing them face-to-face with a group of four men gathered around her, two of which were familiar.
"KITTY!" Edith happily cried out before anyone could say anything, earning her a smile from Kuroka before she said,
"Don't worry Edith, we'll take you to see mommy and daddy now~Nya!" Purposely adding her verbal tick at the end, Kuroka also winked at the little girl to help keep her happy before the battle for her began. When he heard that the red haired flamboyant man began to snicker and was about to tell Kuroka to stop dreaming when something happened that none of hem were expecting.
"Such grace, elegance, and feline beauty! Please, tell me your name!" Sebastian declared as he suddenly took one of Kuroka's hands into his own, his gaze filled with infatuation as he focused on her multitude of tails and cat ears.
Kuroka's brows twitched in obvious annoyance, as she spat at him, "Kuroka...." Sebastian gasped at her voice dramatically, before saying as he looked into her eyes,
"Kuroka, will you please marry me?"
SLAM!
When they heard those words several people in the room fell to their sides in shock, while the flamboyant man quickly ran up to Sebastian and demanded,
"You're cheating on me little Sebas?! I thought we had something special!" Sebastian directed a look of blatant disgust at the man, Grell Sutcliff, and stated without any hesitation,
"What we 'have' is my mistress's orders, nothing more. If it wasn't for her then you'd never have even gotten close to me to begin with!" With their contract making all of Alice's orders absolute to him, Sebastian had no choice but to act out every single boys love e.r.o.t.i.c fantasy she could come up, making her his least favorite contractor to date. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew her soul would be more delectable than any other he had ever had, or would ever find, he probably would've voided their contract long ago.
That was why Sebastian had no problem verbally abusing the crestfallen Grell, before turning his attention back to the most amazing being to have ever crossed his path, Kuroka. Seeing his sincere gaze and pleading eyes, Kuroka flashed Sebastian the sweetest smile she could manage before saying in an even sweeter voice,
"Get your filthy f.u.c.k.i.n.g hands off of me." Before anyone even had time to register what she said, each of Kuroka's nails on the hand that Sebastian was holding extended into long and lethal claws, piercing through his suit and c.h.e.s.t as if they were paper.
"Gah!" Sebastian coughed up a mouth full of blood as Kuroka's claws literally shredded his heart and lungs, before she used her hold to slowly raise him up to a standing position once more. She then slowly raised up her foot until it was level with his sternum, before planting it onto him and sending Sebastian flying into the wall behind him, caving in the stone on impact.
"Yay! Go kitty! Go kitty!" Edith cheered happily after Kuroka sent Sebastian flying, while Grell quickly rushed to his side despite Sebastian's cruel words less than a moment before, and cried out,
"My darling Sebas! You'll pay for that you hussy of a thieving cat!" As he shouted at her the other two people in the room began moving as if to fight, Natsu and Gajeel, the former's arms flickering with a dark demonic flame.
Both of them looked at Kuroka and the others with unwavering hostility, and no sign of recognition in their eyes. Kuroka just eyed them as both Shizuku and Kurumu readied themselves beside her as well, the latter holding back her laughter from the previous scene, and said,
"Time to teach all of you a lesson~Nya!"
Meanwhile, in the shadows nearby, Paul was watching the entire thing play out, his gaze cold and calculative.
He had already tried, and failed, to reach the Dark Emperor and alert him to the intruders, which told him they had severely underestimated their opponents if they were capable of instantly blocking telekinetic communications. With their response being completely outside his expectations, instead of trying to secure Edith, Paul decided that it might be in his best interests to wait this battle out and see who the victor was. After all, he specialized in assassination and intelligence gathering, not direct combat. His Energy Absorption ability was only for a last resort against opponents like these, and the last thing he wanted was to bring the ire of someone who was as powerful as Alex directly down onto he himself.
Without another thought regarding the safety of his supposed 'comrades', Paul then turned around and made to leave the Hanging Gardens as he awaited the battle's conclusion.
***
"Tell you what, become my woman now and I won't have to beat you into submission." Anne's eyes narrowed at his proposal, before she held up her left hand to show off the golden band on her ring finger and replied,
"I'm already happily married, so screw you!" Calvin's brow twitched just ever so slightly when he heard that, before he snorted back,
"If it's the guy back there, then you can forget about it. Once Darius is done with him he'll have no choice but to obey anything we tell him, even if it means giving up some of his so-called 'wives'." Since the plan was already to have Alex give up Rias once he inevitably joined them, then there'd be no issue with making him give up another one or two of his women along with her while the rest would still be used for breeding.
Naturally, Anne's expression darkened when she heard that as she recalled the one man's apparent infatuation with Rias. Though she wanted to go off on the man regarding his pig headedness, Anne ultimately held her tongue since there'd be no point when the other party willingly practiced and took advantage of commercial slavery.
Instead, she then began to draw in a long drawn out breath, putting Calvin on alert even before she cried out,
"SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!"
Calving wyes widened as he watched the destructive cyclone of wind rapidly approach him, forcing him to immediately release a blast of fire from his hands and feet in order to move out of the way fast enough, but even then it wasn't enough.
"Ngh..." Calvin let out a muted groan as the cyclone just barely grazed his upper right bicep, shredding the clothes over it and even going as far as sending him back a short ways before he was able to stabilize the vortex of air he used to fly.
Glancing back at Anne once he was stable once more, Calvin smirked before remarking,
"Looks like my bending is gonna be useless here, good thing I always had a plan B and C prepared!" As there was always the chance of encountering someone who wouldn't be effected by the power of the four elements at his disposal, Calvin had prepared for this with the two swords on his hip. Though he technically still could've used fire or water, there was no telling if Anne had other slayer elements at her disposal as well as sky, so it was best to use a weapon that didn't rely entirely on elements instead.
He then grabbed the handle of the old looking katana on his hip before drawing the sword out, making Anne's eyes go wide as she recognized the sword he drew.
"Tessaiga...." She breathed in an barely audible voice, nostalgia filling her despite the current situation as she recalled one of the few animes she had ever watched, Inuyasha.
The sword itself was impossibly deceptive compared to how it appeared when it was sheathed. Extending as long as a person was tall, the blade itself was curved to resemble a dog's fang while the guard between the handle and blade was covered with some moderately long ivory colored fur.
Calvin smirked victoriously as he watched Anne's reaction to his Tessaiga, his upper lip curling up slightly to reveal his teeth as he declared,
"Last chance, submit now or I'll have to get a bit nasty with you." Looking back at the man himself, Anne's expression hardened once more while she also retained her alertness towards the weapon before her.
Though not as powerful as certain other weapons, Tessaiga was still a powerful sword in its own right while also being able to gain new attacks to become even stronger after defeating certain opponents. Despite recognizing the sword and knowing its initial attacks, Anne had no idea what the sword in Calvin's hands was actually capable of, making her even more alert than she was before.
Taking her extended silence as yet another refusal, Calvin shrugged and said as he used both hands to ready the massive sword,
"Very well, I gave you a chance so don't blame me for your suffering." Then, without any hesitation, Calvin swung the great sword in the empty air at Anne's general direction, while also crying out,
"'Wind Scar'!"
Just barely escaping the path of the 'Wind Scar', Anne didn't have any time to rest as Calvin quickly fired off another attack at her, before following that one up with yet another attack.
Anne's brow twitched in annoyance as she realized that, unlike Inuyasha when he had first started using the 'Wind Scar', Calvin was able to use it repetitively without the conditions that had originally been required to use it, which Inuyasha had only been able to do once the blade was reforged.
Of course she didn't have much time to think about how to counter the destructive attacks being aimed at her, each of which were claimed to have been able to eliminating one hundred Youkai with a single strike, as Anne began a dangerous dodging game while Calvin lazily fired off 'Wind Scar' after 'Wind Scar' at her. She was only able to weave through the destructive attacks carving their way through the air, until she noticed a very brief opening in calving barrage of attacks.
Taking this moment to strike, Anne quickly took in another deep breath before crying out for the second time,
"SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!"
As yet another dangerous cyclone of razor sharp wind hurtled towards him however, this time Calvin didn't even try to dodge. Instead, a victorious smirk appeared on his lips.
Waiting until the cyclone was right about to hit him, Calvin quickly raised his sword once more and prepared to swing it, making Anne realize her mistake too late.
"'BACKLASH WAVE'!"
Calvin cried out as he used what initially appeared to be another 'Wind Scar', except, with his impeccable timing, the normally destructive attack combined with Anne's own roar as both were reflected right back at her as a series of devastating twisters. Anne could only watch as a cyclone of wind and energy more powerful than any she could use bared down on her.
Mustering up every single bit of her will and strength, Anne reached out her hands and 'grabbed' the cyclone of power with them, using everything she had to try and hold the attack back while the other twisters closed in on her.
Her mind began racing as she desperately tried to figure out what to do before the series of twisters ripped her to shreds, until Jenny's voice suddenly shouted in her mind,
'ANNE, REMEMBER THAT YOU'RE A SKY SLAYER!'
Anne's mind temporarily blanked at the words, before she recalled that yeah, she WAS a sky slayer. She then opened her mouth, and proceeded to try and consume the twister fighting her hold.
Calvin however was smirking confidently and victoriously as he watched his attacks close in on Anne, his victory already confirmed in his mind. She may end up battered and beaten, but as long as she was alive though Darius would be able to heal up her wounds without any issue.
The thing Calvin was excited about though, was the fact that Anne was obviously another reincarnator like Alex. Though they did toy with the idea that others might've been with him when discussing strategies, none of them could confirm if that had actually been the case until now.
Calvin was lost in the thoughts of his good fortune, until he suddenly noticed something that was going on, there was no sounds of destruction to accompany his 'Backlash Wave' like usual. Instead, if he strained his ears, he could only hear the sounds of ravenous chewing.
Turning his attention back to Anne, Calvin watched in shock as Anne 'ate' each of the twisters formed by his 'Backlash Wave', until none of them were left. Normally this would be impossible since they were filled with her own energy, as slayers couldn't eat their own magic, however since the 'Backlash Wave' was combination of both of their energies she was able to circ.u.mvent this to eat it all.
What happened next was something neither of them could predict though, as after she swallowed the last little bit of Calvin's attack, Anne felt a pulse of power surge through her body.
THUMP!
THUMP!
With her body pulsing with energy, Anne opened her eyes to direct a fierce glare at Calvin, who paled when he saw that her pupils had changed into reptilian slits, while a series of scales had formed on her face and her hair began transitioning to pink.
Calvin couldn't even react as Anne suddenly appeared right in front of him, and slammed her hand into his gut while it was shaped like a claw.
"Sky Dragon's Claw!"
Anne cried out as the full force of her enhanced strength and wind slammed into Calvin, sending him flying back as blood spurted from his mouth, and the vortex of air that he was using to maintain flight was dispersed.
The hit was so intense, that Calvin was sent all the way down to the ocean, while his Tessaiga slipped from his grasp, and began sinking into the dark waters below. Though he could easily retrieve it, Anne didn't give him the chance to.
Instead she pressed her attacks continuously, each of her movements generating massive waves in the ocean each time she would try to bombard the area that Calvin was in with powerful wind based attacks. Naturally Calvin tried to use his water bending to try and negate as much of the effects of her attacks as possible, before he tried to send a series of ice spikes at her.
Anne practically snorted at Calvin's attempt to attack her, as each of the ice spikes froze in midair from her 'Telekinesis', before turning them to face him instead.
"Oh shit..." Calvin muttered to himself before he forced the deadly spears of ice to melt right before they could hit him.
Realizing that his decision against using the other elements earlier had been the correct one, Calvin then figured that, in the face of Anne's newly awakened might, he might have to resort to his plan C.
Slowly the currents around him began to freeze until he had created a sizable platform of ice to stand on, where he became an easier target for Anne to attack. Though it was fairly obvious that he was up to something, Anne didn't seem to care as she swiftly approached him once more for another round of attacks.
Calvin took a deep breath and waited, time seeming to slow from his perspective as Anne approached him, his hand gripping the handle of his second katana in a tight yet loose hold. Then, with instincts he had trained while learning to master the four elements under his control, Calvin quickly unsheathed his sword and swept it in a quick attack, earning him a quiet cry of pain due to having managed to hit Anne's hand with it.
"Gotcha!" Calvin muttered, now one hundred percent convinced of his victory, no matter what other cards Anne possibly had.
Anne meanwhile was clutching her hand with a pained expression, which had a small cut on the palm that was green with what appeared to be infection. She then glanced up at the sword that was still in Calvin's hand, which had runes running along the blade and glowed with a peculiar green light.
In an instant her Dragon Force transformation came undone as the green infection in the cut on her hand began to slowly spread, painfully dissolving any flesh it came into contact with. Calvin however, while battered and bruised, slowly paced around her victoriously before explaining,
"My trump card, Bakusaiga. It's a sword that dissolves all organic matter that it comes into contact with and nullifies any and every regenerative or healing ability. The only option left available if you want to live is to remove your arm before the infection spreads, and then plead with Darius to restore it later. So, what do you think about my offer now?"
Wholeheartedly believing that he had already won, Calvin looked down on the still kneeling Anne with a victorious smirk as he awaited her answer, fully believing that she'd accept becoming his woman with her own life now forfeit otherwise.
Anne however hadn't lost hope yet, as she desperately tried using every form of healing available to her to try and slow the infection dissolving her flesh, despite how painful it was. However, true to Calvin's gloating, nothing she tried worked. Sky Slayer magic, Regeneration magic, the stores of God Water on her, Phoenix Tears, nothing.
Instead she slowly and painfully lost her fingers one by one, before the infection began crawling up her arm, and was almost to her elbow. As Calvin said before, there was only one way to stop the spread, but after that Anne's ideas differed from his.
Gritting her teeth, Anne held out the stump that use to be her right hand to the side, making Calvin think she accepted his offer to cut it off. But, before he could approach her, he suddenly found his entire body being f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y restrained by some invisible force.
"You can stay right there!" Anne snapped at him forcefully, before she then began to use her 'Telekinesis' to pull on her own arm at the shoulder.
What followed was the most intense pain that Anne had ever experience, even dwarfing the infection making its way up her arm, as she felt the muscles in her shoulder tearing, the joints popping, and the skin ripping.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The pain was so great that Anne cried out like a dying animal even as she continued the exceedingly painful process of ripping her own arm off, before the limb was finally removed with a spray of blood and bits of her flesh dyeing the ice platform that Calvin had made red. The man himself though could stare in horrific awe at the scene, never once imagining that Anne would choose such a painful route rather than accept his terms.
Though it took several minutes, eventually Anne stood up and turned to face Calvin, her expression showing pain and exhaustion like she'd never felt before as her bloody stump continued to bleed freely. Then, in a show of how little Calvin's previous offer meant to her, Anne lifted her left hand towards the stump that used to be her right, and began using what little energy she had left to channel Regeneration magic into it.
Calvin watched with increasingly wide eyes as the torn flesh of Anne's arm slowly began to regenerate from the shoulder down, muscle, bone, and skin growing without a single blemish, right down to the fingernails.
Though her injuries were healed, Anne still felt the occasionally phantom sensations of pain as her body tried to adjust to the fact that it had just regained the arm she had f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y removed. So, despite having healed all her injuries, Anne still looked like hell with drops of blood dotting her brown skin, and sweat running down the majority of her body.
She ignored it though as she look back at Calvin, and said,
"Now, I'm going to do something to you that I probably should've started with, but never wanted to do to another person." Before Calvin could ask what she meant, he suddenly let out a blood curdling scream as each of his fingers started bending backwards until they broke, one by one.
Anne then slowly and meticulously used her 'Telekinesis' to break and crush every part of Calvin's body that she could, before slowly ripping the limbs off once they had been destroyed beyond repair. By the time she had finished, Calvin's body was left in numerous bloody and pulpy pieces scattered across the ice sheet, before they eventually began to crumble into dust and fade away in the wind.
"Never mess with the Dragon Empress..." Anne muttered to his vanishing remains, before she suddenly felt a massive amount of energy in the distance.
Knowing that Alex was starting to move since Shizuku had alerted them to their retrieval of Edith as she was killing Calvin, Anne unhesitantly transferred herself to Asora to let her husband take care of the rest. There she found those who hadn't gone to war gathered under a giant projection that showed the various battles that were still taking place, with the center screen showing a chained Alex in his SSJ2 transformation.
Most of the people's attention though was on a certain scene taking place in the middle of the crowd, where Gabriel was clinging onto Edith while fighting back her hysterics, a profound sense of relief filling her that her daughter was safely returned home.
"What'd I miss?" Anne asked with tiredness evident in her voice, alerting people to her presence as they quickly cleared a path for her, awe in their gazes.
Everyone knew her of course because she created the emergency response team and ran the hospital of Asora, but the fight they had just witnessed had changed many perspectives on her as no one knew just how brutal Anne could be if pushed far enough. The silence stretched for a moment or two, before a voice suddenly spoke up,
"Are none of you going to answer your empress?" Everyone parted as Barakiel approached Anne, who had stayed behind to help organize everything. He then directed a glare to those around him before barking,
"We're you all also planning to just leave her there after the battle she'd just been through?! MOVE!" At his final command several people began moving to get Anne a seat to rest, as well as something to eat and drink.
Snorting at them, Barakiel then turned his attention back to Anne and said, "Edith has been returned and most of those who went out to fight have returned as well after eliminating their targets. Now there's only Alex and a few groups left fighting, like the ones who went to the Alverez Empire."
Anne nodded in acknowledgement at Barakiel's briefing of the situation, while busy trying to get a drink of water after some was brought to her. It was at this moment, when the tension finally started leaving her body, that she along with most of those around her were suddenly thrown to the ground as Asora started shake.
"Earthquake?!" Barakiel cried out in astonishment, due to none of their sensors having detected seismic activity in the immediate area before. However he quickly learned that wasn't the case when he suddenly received a call from one of his subordinates.
"SIR! OUR SENSORS ARE DETECTING SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN ALL OF ASORA, NOT JUST THE SURROUNDING REGION!" Barakiel's eyes widened in shock at the information, before the subordinate then continued,
"WE'RE ALSO READING THAT THE MIST BOUNDARY HAS BEGAN EXPANDING AT AN ALARMING RATE! ASORA'S ALREADY GROWN TO MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS SIZE!" Barakiel was silent in shock at the information as he slowly turned to look at the screen showing Alex's battle, along with the few others who weren't desperately trying to maintain their footing.
In it, Alex was completely engulfed by a massive golden aura that almost looked like a miniature golden sun, concealing what was evident to be a transformation within until there was finally a brilliant flash of bright light.
When the light finally cleared, and everyone could see what was happening on the other side, they all gaped in awe at what they saw, with Alex's figure having undergone several subtle changes, and the only drastic one being that his golden hair now flowed down past his b.u.t.t. Obviously, he had finally obtained the form he had been trying to achieve for a long time, the Super Saiyan 3.
"OH COME ON!" Shias voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's gaze to her location where she had just arrived with those who had also gone to attack the Alverez Empire, along with the unconscious forms of August, Brandish, and Irene. Instead of appearing pleased with their victory though, Shia only looked at the image of Alex's new form with despair, knowing exactly who he was going to choose as a sparring partner as he tried to master it.
The tension there reached an all-time high though, as Alex's voice suddenly came through the projection,
"Here I come."
***
"Here I come." Alex told the trio before him, before there was a concussion of sound as both Hyato and Alice were practically blown away just from Alex suddenly moving between them, until he was in front of the Dark Emperor.
Darius didn't even have time to widen his eyes in surprise, before he suddenly felt an incredible pain in his stomach, and looked down to see Alex's hand literally buried in his guts. He then shuddered as he felt Alex's hand move inside him, wrapping around his spine before the man himself said,
"That's interesting, I didn't think someone that had to steal another man's daughter would have a spine..... I guess I'll have to remedy that." While simultaneously using Spirit magic to temporarily sever the connection between Darius and Fairy Heart to extend the time it'll take him to heal, Alex then proceeded to literally rip Darius's spine out through his stomach.
The Dark Emperor then fell to the churning surf below them, his limp body struggling to heal after being forcefully severed from his source of power for the second time in less than 24 hours.
Alex then turned his attention towards the duo left as they watched him in horrified awe, before saying,
"Next?"
Within the hanging gardens, in the same room that Darius had beaten Hyato in just a few short days before, a minor ripple in space appeared that three figures walked through, Shizuku, Kurumu, and Kuroka. The nekomata used her touki to quickly scan the area for enemies, her expression unusually serious as they prepared for the rescue mission. In an instant she used Spatial magic to seal the area immediately around the Hanging Gardens, preventing any kind of communication from leaving or entering, while Kurumu quickly placed a powerful illusion to prevent anyone outside from realizing that something was going on in the castle. Their preparations complete, the trio then headed out to accomplish their mission, to retrieve Edith so that Alex could be able to fight without having to worry about her getting caught in the crossfire. As they wandered the halls they passed several people hurrying as they tried to ready themselves for an attack, none of which even noticed them thanks to the trio being the best amongst Alex's peerage at hiding themselves. Eventually Kuroka turned her attention someplace above as she appeared as if she was looking through the walls, before she said, "Found her." With Kuroka's lack of verbal ticks indicating exactly how tense the current situation was, both Kurumu and Shizuku readied themselves as they prepared to face whoever would be against them. Space then rippled around them once more as Kuroka brought them directly to the room where Edith was being kept, bringing them face-to-face with a group of four men gathered around her, two of which were familiar. "KITTY!" Edith happily cried out before anyone could say anything, earning her a smile from Kuroka before she said, "Don't worry Edith, we'll take you to see mommy and daddy now~Nya!" Purposely adding her verbal tick at the end, Kuroka also winked at the little girl to help keep her happy before the battle for her began. When he heard that the red haired flamboyant man began to snicker and was about to tell Kuroka to stop dreaming when something happened that none of hem were expecting. "Such grace, elegance, and feline beauty! Please, tell me your name!" Sebastian declared as he suddenly took one of Kuroka's hands into his own, his gaze filled with infatuation as he focused on her multitude of tails and cat ears. Kuroka's brows twitched in obvious annoyance, as she spat at him, "Kuroka...." Sebastian gasped at her voice dramatically, before saying as he looked into her eyes, "Kuroka, will you please marry me?" SLAM! When they heard those words several people in the room fell to their sides in shock, while the flamboyant man quickly ran up to Sebastian and demanded, "You're cheating on me little Sebas?! I thought we had something special!" Sebastian directed a look of blatant disgust at the man, Grell Sutcliff, and stated without any hesitation, "What we 'have' is my mistress's orders, nothing more. If it wasn't for her then you'd never have even gotten close to me to begin with!" With their contract making all of Alice's orders absolute to him, Sebastian had no choice but to act out every single boys love e.r.o.t.i.c fantasy she could come up, making her his least favorite contractor to date. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew her soul would be more delectable than any other he had ever had, or would ever find, he probably would've voided their contract long ago. That was why Sebastian had no problem verbally abusing the crestfallen Grell, before turning his attention back to the most amazing being to have ever crossed his path, Kuroka. Seeing his sincere gaze and pleading eyes, Kuroka flashed Sebastian the sweetest smile she could manage before saying in an even sweeter voice, "Get your filthy f.u.c.k.i.n.g hands off of me." Before anyone even had time to register what she said, each of Kuroka's nails on the hand that Sebastian was holding extended into long and lethal claws, piercing through his suit and c.h.e.s.t as if they were paper. "Gah!" Sebastian coughed up a mouth full of blood as Kuroka's claws literally shredded his heart and lungs, before she used her hold to slowly raise him up to a standing position once more. She then slowly raised up her foot until it was level with his sternum, before planting it onto him and sending Sebastian flying into the wall behind him, caving in the stone on impact. "Yay! Go kitty! Go kitty!" Edith cheered happily after Kuroka sent Sebastian flying, while Grell quickly rushed to his side despite Sebastian's cruel words less than a moment before, and cried out, "My darling Sebas! You'll pay for that you hussy of a thieving cat!" As he shouted at her the other two people in the room began moving as if to fight, Natsu and Gajeel, the former's arms flickering with a dark demonic flame. Both of them looked at Kuroka and the others with unwavering hostility, and no sign of recognition in their eyes. Kuroka just eyed them as both Shizuku and Kurumu readied themselves beside her as well, the latter holding back her laughter from the previous scene, and said, "Time to teach all of you a lesson~Nya!" Meanwhile, in the shadows nearby, Paul was watching the entire thing play out, his gaze cold and calculative. He had already tried, and failed, to reach the Dark Emperor and alert him to the intruders, which told him they had severely underestimated their opponents if they were capable of instantly blocking telekinetic communications. With their response being completely outside his expectations, instead of trying to secure Edith, Paul decided that it might be in his best interests to wait this battle out and see who the victor was. After all, he specialized in assassination and intelligence gathering, not direct combat. His Energy Absorption ability was only for a last resort against opponents like these, and the last thing he wanted was to bring the ire of someone who was as powerful as Alex directly down onto he himself. Without another thought regarding the safety of his supposed 'comrades', Paul then turned around and made to leave the Hanging Gardens as he awaited the battle's conclusion. *** "Tell you what, become my woman now and I won't have to beat you into submission." Anne's eyes narrowed at his proposal, before she held up her left hand to show off the golden band on her ring finger and replied, "I'm already happily married, so screw you!" Calvin's brow twitched just ever so slightly when he heard that, before he snorted back, "If it's the guy back there, then you can forget about it. Once Darius is done with him he'll have no choice but to obey anything we tell him, even if it means giving up some of his so-called 'wives'." Since the plan was already to have Alex give up Rias once he inevitably joined them, then there'd be no issue with making him give up another one or two of his women along with her while the rest would still be used for breeding. Naturally, Anne's expression darkened when she heard that as she recalled the one man's apparent infatuation with Rias. Though she wanted to go off on the man regarding his pig headedness, Anne ultimately held her tongue since there'd be no point when the other party willingly practiced and took advantage of commercial slavery. Instead, she then began to draw in a long drawn out breath, putting Calvin on alert even before she cried out, "SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!" Calving wyes widened as he watched the destructive cyclone of wind rapidly approach him, forcing him to immediately release a blast of fire from his hands and feet in order to move out of the way fast enough, but even then it wasn't enough. "Ngh..." Calvin let out a muted groan as the cyclone just barely grazed his upper right bicep, shredding the clothes over it and even going as far as sending him back a short ways before he was able to stabilize the vortex of air he used to fly. Glancing back at Anne once he was stable once more, Calvin smirked before remarking, "Looks like my bending is gonna be useless here, good thing I always had a plan B and C prepared!" As there was always the chance of encountering someone who wouldn't be effected by the power of the four elements at his disposal, Calvin had prepared for this with the two swords on his hip. Though he technically still could've used fire or water, there was no telling if Anne had other slayer elements at her disposal as well as sky, so it was best to use a weapon that didn't rely entirely on elements instead. He then grabbed the handle of the old looking katana on his hip before drawing the sword out, making Anne's eyes go wide as she recognized the sword he drew. "Tessaiga...." She breathed in an barely audible voice, nostalgia filling her despite the current situation as she recalled one of the few animes she had ever watched, Inuyasha. The sword itself was impossibly deceptive compared to how it appeared when it was sheathed. Extending as long as a person was tall, the blade itself was curved to resemble a dog's fang while the guard between the handle and blade was covered with some moderately long ivory colored fur. Calvin smirked victoriously as he watched Anne's reaction to his Tessaiga, his upper lip curling up slightly to reveal his teeth as he declared, "Last chance, submit now or I'll have to get a bit nasty with you." Looking back at the man himself, Anne's expression hardened once more while she also retained her alertness towards the weapon before her. Though not as powerful as certain other weapons, Tessaiga was still a powerful sword in its own right while also being able to gain new attacks to become even stronger after defeating certain opponents. Despite recognizing the sword and knowing its initial attacks, Anne had no idea what the sword in Calvin's hands was actually capable of, making her even more alert than she was before. Taking her extended silence as yet another refusal, Calvin shrugged and said as he used both hands to ready the massive sword, "Very well, I gave you a chance so don't blame me for your suffering." Then, without any hesitation, Calvin swung the great sword in the empty air at Anne's general direction, while also crying out, "'Wind Scar'!" Just barely escaping the path of the 'Wind Scar', Anne didn't have any time to rest as Calvin quickly fired off another attack at her, before following that one up with yet another attack. Anne's brow twitched in annoyance as she realized that, unlike Inuyasha when he had first started using the 'Wind Scar', Calvin was able to use it repetitively without the conditions that had originally been required to use it, which Inuyasha had only been able to do once the blade was reforged. Of course she didn't have much time to think about how to counter the destructive attacks being aimed at her, each of which were claimed to have been able to eliminating one hundred Youkai with a single strike, as Anne began a dangerous dodging game while Calvin lazily fired off 'Wind Scar' after 'Wind Scar' at her. She was only able to weave through the destructive attacks carving their way through the air, until she noticed a very brief opening in calving barrage of attacks. Taking this moment to strike, Anne quickly took in another deep breath before crying out for the second time, "SKY DRAGON'S ROAR!" As yet another dangerous cyclone of razor sharp wind hurtled towards him however, this time Calvin didn't even try to dodge. Instead, a victorious smirk appeared on his lips. Waiting until the cyclone was right about to hit him, Calvin quickly raised his sword once more and prepared to swing it, making Anne realize her mistake too late. "'BACKLASH WAVE'!" Calvin cried out as he used what initially appeared to be another 'Wind Scar', except, with his impeccable timing, the normally destructive attack combined with Anne's own roar as both were reflected right back at her as a series of devastating twisters. Anne could only watch as a cyclone of wind and energy more powerful than any she could use bared down on her. Mustering up every single bit of her will and strength, Anne reached out her hands and 'grabbed' the cyclone of power with them, using everything she had to try and hold the attack back while the other twisters closed in on her. Her mind began racing as she desperately tried to figure out what to do before the series of twisters ripped her to shreds, until Jenny's voice suddenly shouted in her mind, 'ANNE, REMEMBER THAT YOU'RE A SKY SLAYER!' Anne's mind temporarily blanked at the words, before she recalled that yeah, she WAS a sky slayer. She then opened her mouth, and proceeded to try and consume the twister fighting her hold. Calvin however was smirking confidently and victoriously as he watched his attacks close in on Anne, his victory already confirmed in his mind. She may end up battered and beaten, but as long as she was alive though Darius would be able to heal up her wounds without any issue. The thing Calvin was excited about though, was the fact that Anne was obviously another reincarnator like Alex. Though they did toy with the idea that others might've been with him when discussing strategies, none of them could confirm if that had actually been the case until now. Calvin was lost in the thoughts of his good fortune, until he suddenly noticed something that was going on, there was no sounds of destruction to accompany his 'Backlash Wave' like usual. Instead, if he strained his ears, he could only hear the sounds of ravenous chewing. Turning his attention back to Anne, Calvin watched in shock as Anne 'ate' each of the twisters formed by his 'Backlash Wave', until none of them were left. Normally this would be impossible since they were filled with her own energy, as slayers couldn't eat their own magic, however since the 'Backlash Wave' was combination of both of their energies she was able to circ.u.mvent this to eat it all. What happened next was something neither of them could predict though, as after she swallowed the last little bit of Calvin's attack, Anne felt a pulse of power surge through her body. THUMP! THUMP! With her body pulsing with energy, Anne opened her eyes to direct a fierce glare at Calvin, who paled when he saw that her pupils had changed into reptilian slits, while a series of scales had formed on her face and her hair began transitioning to pink. Calvin couldn't even react as Anne suddenly appeared right in front of him, and slammed her hand into his gut while it was shaped like a claw. "Sky Dragon's Claw!" Anne cried out as the full force of her enhanced strength and wind slammed into Calvin, sending him flying back as blood spurted from his mouth, and the vortex of air that he was using to maintain flight was dispersed. The hit was so intense, that Calvin was sent all the way down to the ocean, while his Tessaiga slipped from his grasp, and began sinking into the dark waters below. Though he could easily retrieve it, Anne didn't give him the chance to. Instead she pressed her attacks continuously, each of her movements generating massive waves in the ocean each time she would try to bombard the area that Calvin was in with powerful wind based attacks. Naturally Calvin tried to use his water bending to try and negate as much of the effects of her attacks as possible, before he tried to send a series of ice spikes at her. Anne practically snorted at Calvin's attempt to attack her, as each of the ice spikes froze in midair from her 'Telekinesis', before turning them to face him instead. "Oh shit..." Calvin muttered to himself before he forced the deadly spears of ice to melt right before they could hit him. Realizing that his decision against using the other elements earlier had been the correct one, Calvin then figured that, in the face of Anne's newly awakened might, he might have to resort to his plan C. Slowly the currents around him began to freeze until he had created a sizable platform of ice to stand on, where he became an easier target for Anne to attack. Though it was fairly obvious that he was up to something, Anne didn't seem to care as she swiftly approached him once more for another round of attacks. Calvin took a deep breath and waited, time seeming to slow from his perspective as Anne approached him, his hand gripping the handle of his second katana in a tight yet loose hold. Then, with instincts he had trained while learning to master the four elements under his control, Calvin quickly unsheathed his sword and swept it in a quick attack, earning him a quiet cry of pain due to having managed to hit Anne's hand with it. "Gotcha!" Calvin muttered, now one hundred percent convinced of his victory, no matter what other cards Anne possibly had. Anne meanwhile was clutching her hand with a pained expression, which had a small cut on the palm that was green with what appeared to be infection. She then glanced up at the sword that was still in Calvin's hand, which had runes running along the blade and glowed with a peculiar green light. In an instant her Dragon Force transformation came undone as the green infection in the cut on her hand began to slowly spread, painfully dissolving any flesh it came into contact with. Calvin however, while battered and bruised, slowly paced around her victoriously before explaining, "My trump card, Bakusaiga. It's a sword that dissolves all organic matter that it comes into contact with and nullifies any and every regenerative or healing ability. The only option left available if you want to live is to remove your arm before the infection spreads, and then plead with Darius to restore it later. So, what do you think about my offer now?" Wholeheartedly believing that he had already won, Calvin looked down on the still kneeling Anne with a victorious smirk as he awaited her answer, fully believing that she'd accept becoming his woman with her own life now forfeit otherwise. Anne however hadn't lost hope yet, as she desperately tried using every form of healing available to her to try and slow the infection dissolving her flesh, despite how painful it was. However, true to Calvin's gloating, nothing she tried worked. Sky Slayer magic, Regeneration magic, the stores of God Water on her, Phoenix Tears, nothing. Instead she slowly and painfully lost her fingers one by one, before the infection began crawling up her arm, and was almost to her elbow. As Calvin said before, there was only one way to stop the spread, but after that Anne's ideas differed from his. Gritting her teeth, Anne held out the stump that use to be her right hand to the side, making Calvin think she accepted his offer to cut it off. But, before he could approach her, he suddenly found his entire body being f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y restrained by some invisible force. "You can stay right there!" Anne snapped at him forcefully, before she then began to use her 'Telekinesis' to pull on her own arm at the shoulder. What followed was the most intense pain that Anne had ever experience, even dwarfing the infection making its way up her arm, as she felt the muscles in her shoulder tearing, the joints popping, and the skin ripping. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The pain was so great that Anne cried out like a dying animal even as she continued the exceedingly painful process of ripping her own arm off, before the limb was finally removed with a spray of blood and bits of her flesh dyeing the ice platform that Calvin had made red. The man himself though could stare in horrific awe at the scene, never once imagining that Anne would choose such a painful route rather than accept his terms. Though it took several minutes, eventually Anne stood up and turned to face Calvin, her expression showing pain and exhaustion like she'd never felt before as her bloody stump continued to bleed freely. Then, in a show of how little Calvin's previous offer meant to her, Anne lifted her left hand towards the stump that used to be her right, and began using what little energy she had left to channel Regeneration magic into it. Calvin watched with increasingly wide eyes as the torn flesh of Anne's arm slowly began to regenerate from the shoulder down, muscle, bone, and skin growing without a single blemish, right down to the fingernails. Though her injuries were healed, Anne still felt the occasionally phantom sensations of pain as her body tried to adjust to the fact that it had just regained the arm she had f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y removed. So, despite having healed all her injuries, Anne still looked like hell with drops of blood dotting her brown skin, and sweat running down the majority of her body. She ignored it though as she look back at Calvin, and said, "Now, I'm going to do something to you that I probably should've started with, but never wanted to do to another person." Before Calvin could ask what she meant, he suddenly let out a blood curdling scream as each of his fingers started bending backwards until they broke, one by one. Anne then slowly and meticulously used her 'Telekinesis' to break and crush every part of Calvin's body that she could, before slowly ripping the limbs off once they had been destroyed beyond repair. By the time she had finished, Calvin's body was left in numerous bloody and pulpy pieces scattered across the ice sheet, before they eventually began to crumble into dust and fade away in the wind. "Never mess with the Dragon Empress..." Anne muttered to his vanishing remains, before she suddenly felt a massive amount of energy in the distance. Knowing that Alex was starting to move since Shizuku had alerted them to their retrieval of Edith as she was killing Calvin, Anne unhesitantly transferred herself to Asora to let her husband take care of the rest. There she found those who hadn't gone to war gathered under a giant projection that showed the various battles that were still taking place, with the center screen showing a chained Alex in his SSJ2 transformation. Most of the people's attention though was on a certain scene taking place in the middle of the crowd, where Gabriel was clinging onto Edith while fighting back her hysterics, a profound sense of relief filling her that her daughter was safely returned home. "What'd I miss?" Anne asked with tiredness evident in her voice, alerting people to her presence as they quickly cleared a path for her, awe in their gazes. Everyone knew her of course because she created the emergency response team and ran the hospital of Asora, but the fight they had just witnessed had changed many perspectives on her as no one knew just how brutal Anne could be if pushed far enough. The silence stretched for a moment or two, before a voice suddenly spoke up, "Are none of you going to answer your empress?" Everyone parted as Barakiel approached Anne, who had stayed behind to help organize everything. He then directed a glare to those around him before barking, "We're you all also planning to just leave her there after the battle she'd just been through?! MOVE!" At his final command several people began moving to get Anne a seat to rest, as well as something to eat and drink. Snorting at them, Barakiel then turned his attention back to Anne and said, "Edith has been returned and most of those who went out to fight have returned as well after eliminating their targets. Now there's only Alex and a few groups left fighting, like the ones who went to the Alverez Empire." Anne nodded in acknowledgement at Barakiel's briefing of the situation, while busy trying to get a drink of water after some was brought to her. It was at this moment, when the tension finally started leaving her body, that she along with most of those around her were suddenly thrown to the ground as Asora started shake. "Earthquake?!" Barakiel cried out in astonishment, due to none of their sensors having detected seismic activity in the immediate area before. However he quickly learned that wasn't the case when he suddenly received a call from one of his subordinates. "SIR! OUR SENSORS ARE DETECTING SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN ALL OF ASORA, NOT JUST THE SURROUNDING REGION!" Barakiel's eyes widened in shock at the information, before the subordinate then continued, "WE'RE ALSO READING THAT THE MIST BOUNDARY HAS BEGAN EXPANDING AT AN ALARMING RATE! ASORA'S ALREADY GROWN TO MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS SIZE!" Barakiel was silent in shock at the information as he slowly turned to look at the screen showing Alex's battle, along with the few others who weren't desperately trying to maintain their footing. In it, Alex was completely engulfed by a massive golden aura that almost looked like a miniature golden sun, concealing what was evident to be a transformation within until there was finally a brilliant flash of bright light. When the light finally cleared, and everyone could see what was happening on the other side, they all gaped in awe at what they saw, with Alex's figure having undergone several subtle changes, and the only drastic one being that his golden hair now flowed down past his b.u.t.t. Obviously, he had finally obtained the form he had been trying to achieve for a long time, the Super Saiyan 3. "OH COME ON!" Shias voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's gaze to her location where she had just arrived with those who had also gone to attack the Alverez Empire, along with the unconscious forms of August, Brandish, and Irene. Instead of appearing pleased with their victory though, Shia only looked at the image of Alex's new form with despair, knowing exactly who he was going to choose as a sparring partner as he tried to master it. The tension there reached an all-time high though, as Alex's voice suddenly came through the projection, "Here I come." *** "Here I come." Alex told the trio before him, before there was a concussion of sound as both Hyato and Alice were practically blown away just from Alex suddenly moving between them, until he was in front of the Dark Emperor. Darius didn't even have time to widen his eyes in surprise, before he suddenly felt an incredible pain in his stomach, and looked down to see Alex's hand literally buried in his guts. He then shuddered as he felt Alex's hand move inside him, wrapping around his spine before the man himself said, "That's interesting, I didn't think someone that had to steal another man's daughter would have a spine..... I guess I'll have to remedy that." While simultaneously using Spirit magic to temporarily sever the connection between Darius and Fairy Heart to extend the time it'll take him to heal, Alex then proceeded to literally rip Darius's spine out through his stomach. The Dark Emperor then fell to the churning surf below them, his limp body struggling to heal after being forcefully severed from his source of power for the second time in less than 24 hours. Alex then turned his attention towards the duo left as they watched him in horrified awe, before saying, "Next?"
