Gila grunted softly as he locked onto Judas, his aura bursting around his body as he charged toward the son of destruction. Judas braced himself as Gila's speed caught him off guard; he was barely able to guard against Gila's might and groaned as he was knocked back.
Judas recovered onto one foot then hopped backwards, forming black saw blades of energy in his hand then launched them both at Gila. The Alrean Prince rushed forward and phased through the attack, his water silhouette flowing forward and landing a rising uppercut upon Judas' cheek.
"Mayim! Deep Sea Spear!" Gila roared, his aura surging as Mayim awakened with a powerful cry.
A few citizens noticed Mayim's awakening and grew afraid, but noticed a glorious star hovering above Gila and recognized it as the Star of Bethlehem. The Star moved slightly to the left, leading the citizens away from Gila's fight against Judas.
The citizens retreated from the south district of Meijiang as Mayim fired a piercing beam toward Judas as he was airborne. Judas quickly summoned his Spear of Hades and sliced downward, splitting the Deep Sea Spear in two with urgency.
"Don't let up! I won't let you fail!" Gila called out, summoning a Cerberus Monster Orb then tossed it upward to Mayim. "Mayim! Hydra Mode and fire your Deep Sea Spear again!"
Judas grunted as Mayim fused with the Cerberus and became a three headed Hydra, the Sea Drake's power increasing to grand amounts. 'This Beast..! It's a Special Grade isn't it?!'
Mayim roared as he unleashed three Deep Sea Spears toward Judas, each one with the threat of piercing through his body. Judas reacted quickly and deflected the first Spear then his body became a black silhouette; He avoided the second Spear by the Grace of God, yet the third one remained upon his tracks.
Judas grunted and launched his spear down toward Mayim's Deep Sea Spear, both blades colliding and causing a bright light to shine. The light detonated into an explosion, throwing Judas backwards and shaking the ground.
Above, the Star of Thuban flew across the skies, nearly intercepting Antares Alph and Antares Bet, but Thuban made a swift recovery by taking both Antares and forming a hierarchical triple star system. Orbiting them from a distance, the supergiants hurled Thuban back toward Giansar and Ethanim, but delayed their arrival by a day.
"Whoa, did you just see that? Why did Thuban move when Judas was thrown back..?" Xiao Shang asked, taking a mental note of the wonder.
Yang Ru hummed softly and looked forward at the battle between Gila and Judas, feeling Gila's Rebirth Energy constantly being poured onto him. 'This near infinite energy...has God poured His Cup of Blessings upon him..?'
Judas grunted softly as he rose up from the ground, shaking his head and coughing lightly. "What is this vast strength..? This Elonun is no older than I am, and he's already this powerful..? He doesn't summon other monsters other than that Sea Dragon..."
Gila looked at his hand, experiencing God's unwavering Grace being poured upon him. He looked up at the sky, noticing the Star of Bethlehem hovering over the Citadel. "Where is He leading me..?"
Gila ran forward without a second thought to the Citadel, but Judas sped toward him and caught him with a strike to his jaw. Dazing him for a moment, Judas grabbed Gila's necklace and pulled him forward for a heavy jab. Gila caught his fist before tossing him into the alley and surfed forward into a horizontal axe kick.
Judas used his lightning to accelerate and dodge Gila's attack then kicked off the wall for a roundhouse kick, but Gila twirled under it for a clean icy backhand fist. Judas groaned and staggered backwards, leaving himself open for a devastating gut blow followed by Mayim using his Charging Smash to ram into Judas.
Judas groaned as he crashed into a pile of garbage and slammed into a dumpster, wincing heavily in pain and clutching his stomach. 'Jesus Christ...I could barely keep up...'
Gila ran past Judas and leaped upon the back of Mayim and rode across the skies toward the Citadel. He looked up at the sky, grunting softly as Ethanim began to shine brightly then a Long Serpent descended from the skies, his black scales gleaming iridescent under the sunlight to disguise as a Light Dragon.
Thuban shifted slightly in the sky, using the sunlight to reflect light into Gila's eyes, distorting his sight and making him perceive Ethanim as a Light Dragon. Giansar roared in the sky and beamed down a corruptive light toward Gila, but a Sovereign Butterfly intercepted and transformed into its Beast Form.
Gila grunted at the explosion beside him, looking to his right to see my Sovereign Butterfly protecting him from Giansar's corruption. "Lord Nox..? He's here?"
Ethanim roared and flew toward my Sovereign Butterfly and fired a fiery ray of flames toward it, but my Sovereign Butterfly deconstructed into energy particles then reconstructed behind Ethanim with a Radiant Blast. Ethanim roared as the blast carried him toward the ground, but he coiled around it to absorb the explosion.
"Why is that Light Dragon fighting a Sovereign Butterfly? Lord Nox, stop! That's an ally!" Gila called out, watching Ethanim fly back into the sky, a low chuckle rumbling in Ethanim's throat.
I watched and listened to Gila from a distance with Aquila's Eagle perched upon my shoulder, my gaze lifting up to the sky to see Thuban distorting his sight. I awakened my Judge Form, my Elonun Crest forming upon my hand then I snapped my fingers.
Gila noticed an Elonun Scroll appear in front of him, the seal upon the scroll having the words, Rank: A, pressed into it. He broke the seal and opened the Elonun Scroll, reading the Holy Inscription to learn the Elonun Blessing, Foresight.
"Foresight? A Blessing that grants the person or persons pure clarity for three seconds..? There's more on here, but I can't read this language..." Gila said, exhaling softly and lowering the scroll and looked up at the sky once again. "Did Lord Nox give me this..?"
Gila let out a soft exhale once again and decided to use the new blessing and awakened Foresight, his eyes gleaming silver for three seconds and seeing Ethanim for what he truly was. He recoiled backwards in shock, noticing The Long Serpent soaring above him.
Mayim roared as he dodged Ethanim's Poison Rain, his speedy body growing faster as God began making it rain in the sky so he could avoid the acidic energy blasts falling. Gila stood up on Mayim's back, his smile widening as he truly felt God on his side and laughed to the air.
"My God, my God! Let us save this nation together! Draco will have no power over me!" Gila laughed joyfully, leaping off Mayim's back to fly toward Ethanim.
Ethanim roared and fired beams of energy at Gila, each one missing as Gila warped and phased through each beam. He fired a Deep Sea Spear at Ethanim's head, but the Spear deflected off Ethanim's near impenetrable scales and Ethanim laughed.
"Sagittarius Arts: Sharpshooter!" I called out, firing a fiery, consuming arrow down at Ethanim.
Gila grunted in shock as he noticed my arrow fall like lightning upon Ethanim, piercing through his skull and closing his mouth. I warped down toward Ethanim and awakened Disarm, striking Ethanim's head and shattering his impenetrable scales.
"Lord Nox..." Gila spoke softly, his breath catching in his throat as I saved him from Ethanim.
As Ethanim retreated back to the skies, Giansar now shone brightly and a Dark Angel began descending from the stormclouds with a six branch sword in hand. His wings were draconic, less holy and more corrupt, his helmet resembled the Black Dragon and his tail was armored and spiked.
"My son, My Disciples are all headed to the Citadel, so I will teach you the Ways of the Elonun. Follow my steps and watch how God leads me," I said, calling my Sovereign Butterflies to me then warped toward Giansar.
Giansar roared and slashed downward toward me, but I warped behind him then blocked his circular slash with a butterfly. Pushing his sword away, I landed an elbow to the top of his head and sent him crashing to the ground.
Gila watched Giansar fall to the ground like lightning, grunting softly at the massive impact within the outskirts of the city. Mayim carried him to the ground and he hopped off his back, looking ahead to see Giansar standing back up.
"The Echo, Elonun of the Waters below the Earth! I'll destroy you!" Giansar roared, his aura cracking the ground as he powered up.
Gila grunted and braced himself as Giansar lunged toward him with a low sweeping slash, but he dodged and summoned his trident and jammed his weapon into the ground. Giansar grunted as his sword was trapped between the forks of Gila's trident then chuckled, opening his helmet and firing a Draco Star at Gila.
The orange and black orb of energy slammed into Gila, throwing him backwards and exploding, sending him flying even further. He recovered onto his feet then froze as he sensed Giansar already behind him with a deadly attack.
Before Giansar's sword could reach my son, I warped toward Giansar with a Lion's Fist, my fiery strike releasing a roar upon impact. I let out a roar and awakened Chosen One, each of my attributes overflowing into a higher realm.
Gila grunted as my aura created high winds, his grin widening as a Holy Ember began to spark from his chest. 'This man...No wonder I feel so connected to him...this man is my dad!'
Giansar stopped himself in the air and flew toward me with a thrust of his sword, but missed as I vanished from his sight. He landed on the ground and grunted as he blocked Gila's Smash, and felt uncomfortable from Gila's rising Rebirth Energy.
'What happened..? How did he grow so powerful with such a weak flame..?' Giansar thought to himself and pushed Gila backwards.
Gila chuckled and ripped his Manaport Badge off his tattered cloak, waters spiralling around him at his feet as he began to tap into his Elonun Form. A tiny sea dragon antler began to grow upon the right side of his head, the Mark of God slowly forming upon his hand with calm energy.
"I've been lied to all my life... but now I understand. Everything is making sense and I love it! Lord Nox is my father!" Gila roared, his aura surging up to the skies with beautiful lightning crashing down around him as he tapped into his Stage 1 Elonun Form.
Giansar grunted as he felt a massive spike in Gila's energy as he awakened a signature Elonun Blessing, Prodigal Son. A part in the storm clouds opened up, God's Loving Cup pouring down upon Gila and showing him with Grace.
I looked down at Gila, stunned by his overflowing power despite it being only stage one and recognized the same sensation I felt within Reene. 'This generation...Their potential is greater than any generation that has come to pass...'
Giansar got into his battle stance then noticed me land in front of Gila, his gaze now focusing upon me. "Elonun of Qutsade...you think you can stop ALL of us?! There's more than me within Draco, the other Decans stand against you!"
"They don't only stand against me then. They stand against God as well, but all will be okay. Order will be restored in the Heavens!" I declared, my Rebirth Energy pulsing around my body with pure vigor.
Gila watched closely with a soft grunt, his body jolting as Giansar and I dashed toward each other and clashed. Giansar broke the clash and launched a wide swing of his sword, but I deflected it and palmed the blade, breaking it off then manipulated the metal into a new sword.
Giansar groaned as I used my sword to pierce his foot, pinning him in place then began wailing blows upon him with rapid Disarm activations to break through his armor. Giansar let out a roar to recover and intercepted my next strike with an uppercut. I grunted softly as his blow sent me airborne, but I stopped myself in the air.
"This will be your resting place!" Giansar bellowed, flying up to me with a loaded strike.
Gila watched our clash and rapid movements in the air, the two of us seemingly evenly matched yet I held the definitive upperhand with my Yaoke active. He silently cheered for me, his blood pumping with adrenaline and his heart racing with excitement to jump in on the action.
Giansar and I traded blows in attempt to wear one another down then he slipped through my punch, causing it to meet the air while he landed a clean knee to my stomach. He cut an angle around me then knocked me to the ground with a double axe handle, my impact forming a large smoke cloud to rise to the sky.
"I've got you now!" Gila called out, warping behind Giansar with an attack.
Giansar immediately sensed him from behind and intercepted him with a Glitch Strike, his palm crashing against Gila's stomach and knocking him to the ground at full speed. Gila groaned as he hit the ground, leaving behind a small crater below.
Gila laid inside a pool of water in the crater, the Holy Spirit hovering over the still waters beside him then took him under. Gila entered the water like a water bubble and the Holy Spirit spoke, Gila's body glowing brightly within the waters and he opened his eyes.
Gila laughed underwater as the Holy Spirit carried him up, his small wings lifting him in the air with surging power. "You just don't know who you're messing with! I am the Elonun of the Waters below the Earth! One of God's children and son of the House of Noxius!"
Gila glanced over at me, noticing my nod of approval then turned his gaze back up to Giansar. He smirked and clenched his fist with excitement. "And it looks like this one is for me."
Giansar looked down at Gila and hummed with curiosity, clenching his fists as well and growled lowly. "His Holy Ember shouldn't be boosting him this far...It is redundant at best and useless..."
"You just don't know what you're up against!" Gila said confidently, crouching down and propelling himself toward Giansar in the air.
Giansar grunted at Gila's quick approach then threw an overhead punch, but Gila used a burst of speed to appear behind Giansar, catching him off guard. Giansar pivoted around and threw another punch which was deflected and countered with a left hook from Gila.
Not letting him rest, Gila began landing a series of blows then knocked him toward the ground. Using another burst of speed and awakening his Swift Moves blessing, Gila began blitzing Giansar with a barrage of attacks from every angle.
'He's too fast..! I have to catch him off guard!' Giansar thought to himself, breaking away from Gila's barrage and took to the skies.
Gila followed him to the skies and noticed Giansar had slowed down to be below him. Subconsciously, Gila activated Foresight as he watched Giansar then pre-emptively awakened Icy Scales and Heavy Blow as Giansar landed a heavy uppercut to his chin.
Giansar smirked behind his mask as he noticed Gila freeze for a moment then his eyes widened in shock as Gila immediately retaliated with a devastating blow to his cheek. Each strike became meticulous and more merciless, one palm strike to the face, another left hook to his cheek then a heavy strike to his stomach and chin.
"That's enough!" Giansar roared, propelling himself forward to Gila.
Gila began to release frost particles in the air and held a hand seal with both hands. "Trap Room: Slow!"
Suddenly a simple realm opened around Gila and Giansar, an icy box surrounding them which slowed Giansar's kinetic energy until completely stopping. Gila leaped over Giansar with a kick to his cheek then formed three orbs of energy around him, warping to the front and breaking the Slow Trap Facility and blasting Giansar to the ground.
-----------------------------
At the Deneb Algedi Citadel, groups of Stargazers and Magi were observing the Star of Bethlehem hovering above them revealing Shaula and Lesath above their Temple. Meijiang's Empress stood amongst her people, using her hand to shade her eyes from the sunlight above to see the stars.
"Jia Jia!" The Empress's younger sister called to her, hurrying to her older sister with a scroll in hand.
The Empress turned to look at her younger kin, her bubbly eyes meeting her sister with a smile. "Jia Xia, where are you coming from?"
"Lady Dabih, we have news that Sauline and her Subjugators have arrived at the Citadel and they are with the Apostles! Should we act?" A Royal Guard approached, his voice filled with urgency.
Dabih looked back up at the sky, seeing the Star of Sham shining brightly in the sky which the Star of Bethlehem had revealed. "Send them through. I feel as though they are following the same sign."
Pauline and the others made it to the large double gates of Deneb Algedi Citadel, the large door being guarded by two Gedinites, Dorsum and Nashira. Their armors were light green and aqua blue, their helmets embellished with garnet gems and polished, metallic goat horns.
Nashira stepped forward and stuck her greatsword into the ground before her. "Pauline of Aldebaran and company. I bring forth good news from the Lord who watches over us. You are allowed into the Citadel where our Empress awaits you."
Dorsum nodded, backing up her claim and crossed his arms. "Lady Dabih and Mistress Alshat are awaiting you. It's best to not keep them waiting."
"Alright, thank you Lord," Peter said, clapping his hands together and chuckled.
"Great, we can finally talk with the Empress and warn her," Mark said, taking a soft breath of relief.
"You all going somewhere without me? I thought we were supposed to be brothers," Judas said from behind the group, the Crest of Thuban faintly glowing within his left eye.
Everyone turned around to see Judas behind them, noticing he had battle scratches all over his body and wondered what he encountered. Judas pushed forward through the group, taking a sly glance at Peter before walking toward Nashira and Dorsum.
"Draco is already complete and nothing is being done about it. What good are you Gedinites if you can't protect the Lyre? It's time for real heroes to come to the plate," Judas said, black and purple lightning crackling around his hand.
"Son of Iscariot, you have already been granted access into the Citadel. Hostility is not needed," Nashira said, taking a grip upon her greatsword.
"Wait! We don't need to do this!" Hyeon Bae said, her Rauch Hakodesh stigmata glowing upon her tongue.
"She's correct," The Lord's voice sounded from the Holy Dove's call, the Holy Dove descending from the heavens to land on Hyeon Bae's head. "It's time we put the differences aside and focus on the mission."
Nashira and Dorsum immediately bowed before the Holy Dove, showing Him the upmost respect. Even the Stars of Nashira and Dorsum shone in the sky in response to the pulse of the Polaris Star. All the Apostles looked at Hyeon Bae in awe as Ascea answered her call for peace, the presence of the Holy Dove immediately setting peace between the group.
The double gates slowly opened, the heavy doors roaring as they parted to let the Apostles and the young Valkyrias inside. Making their way through the forted area, they noticed multiple Magi and Stargazers observing the skies, pointing out the anomalies above.
Standing amongst the Magi and Dabih was a woman wearing an embroidered abaya dress with topaz etched onto the fabrics. She wore a flowy hijab in a loose drape with a mask to cover her mouth, her gaze lifted to the skies above.
"J-Jia! They're here!" Alshat warned, tugging on her sister's dress and pointing at the Apostles.
Reinhart hummed with curiosity as he felt Zodiac Energy nearby coming from someone other than himself and Dabih. His gaze shifted to the woman beside him, a curious hum sounding in his throat. "Who is that..?"
Jericho looked at the mysterious woman as well, tilting his head and squinted his eyes. "I can't make out her features due to her modesty...Why?"
"Because...I think she might have Zodiac Energy," Reinhart said, walking forward and making his way toward Dabih and Alshat. "Empress Dabih!"
Dabih looked back at the sound of Reinhart's voice, a smile forming on her face as he approached her. "Ahh, Lord Reinhart. You are here along with the Apostles? What brings you here?"
Reinhart looked at the mysterious woman and crossed his arms, studying her appearance and taking a closer look at her eyes. "That woman...who is she?"
Dabih looked at the mysterious woman as well with a warm, welcoming smile. "This is Nu'ma Graffias. She's here to help in this phenomenon we are experiencing. This Mazzaroth Event seems a bit unnatural as if the enemy is the one pushing the attack."
"That's because the enemy is. Currently, they are looking for someone who is connected to Vega. They are currently in Deneb Algedi," Nu'ma said, her gaze shifting toward the Apostles and the young Valkyrias.
Reinhart glanced back at the group, wondering who Nu'ma was talking about then exhaled softly though his nose. He turned his attention to Dabih and crossed his arms. "Listen, Empress...In a few days, Antares Alph and Antares Bet will arrive here and attempt to destroy Gedi. That will completely cause the Capricorn Kingdom and Mazzaroth to fade away and die."
"I am aware of that, and God has assured me that it will not come to pass. Imara was already cut off once, she already paid the debt for future Gedinites. He won't allow another Gedinite to be cut from His vine...but it still scares me to see Draco here," Dabih said, placing her hand over her heart and closed her eyes.
"If I may ask...what do you mean Imara was cut off?Me and my friends are still learning this Zodiac stuff," Song Jae-in injected, lifting her hand slightly and stepped forward.
Dabih glanced at her then looked up at the sky, noticing a curious twinkle happening from Vega then smiled softly. "She was cut off from the land of the living, cut from this Earth. Her Spirit remains with God, but she sacrificed herself to save Deneb Algedi. She defended God's Dual Nature with her very existence.."
"Whoa...that sounds intense. When you say His Dual Nature, you mean that He was half man, half human?" Reene asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Not Half, He was 100% man because He took on flesh when He walked with us. Also, He was 100% God because He was sent from The Father, and He had always been there. She defended His Perfect Mercy and His Wrath..." Dabih explained, her gaze lifting higher to the Star of Bethlehem.
Judas scoffed lightly at her and stepped forward. "So what..? You think His Judgements are perfect?"
Everyone looked at Judas as he spoke, his heart speaking louder than his mind. Peter's eye twitched with annoyance as his patience began thinning with Judas, his Holy Fire beginning to appear from his chest. John grunted and held Peter back, knowing his impulsive side was showing.
"If God's judgement is made perfect, why is He allowing Antares to continue their path? You all do not seem to understand God like I do," Judas said with slight arrogance, the Crest of Thuban beginning to glow brighter.
The Holy Dove looked at Judas and studied him, seeing the Crest of Thuban in his eye and turned back up to the sky. Letting out a call, the stars for Sagitta began to glow in the day sky and formed into an arrow.
Everyone watched as Sagitta began descending down toward Reinhart then split in two, one of the Sagittas bolting over to me and Gila to use as well. Reinhart grabbed the arrow then looked over to the Holy Dove, knowing only He was able to command the stars as such.
---------------------------
Giansar slowly sat up and recovered his injuries immediately then looked up at the sky, noticing me and Gila planning amongst each other. He grew curious to see what we were planning then noticed a shooting star flying across the cosmos.
I nodded at Gila's plan, giving him a smile and a thumbs up. "Got it. Let's do this."
Gila watched as I took off higher in the skies then lowered his attention to Giansar and descended to the ground. Immediately, he charged forward and landed a clean right hook to Giansar's cheek then followed with a swift body blow. Giansar evaded his attack and threw a head kick which Gila dodged with a cocorinha and countered with a meia-lua de compasso dupla, landing the kick to Giansar's head.
Dazed, Giansar stumbled to the side but recovered with a heavy punch, but Gila warped behind him and fired a powerful jet of water toward him from his mouth. Giansar pivoted around and grunted as he fired an enemy blast as well, the two blasts colliding and causing an explosion.
While Gila held off Giansar, I made it beyond the clouds and stopped then noticed Sagitta approaching me. "Sagitta? I could use this.."
Without hesitation, I fired Sagitta down to the ground then propelled myself behind it then began to somersault downward. Gila and Giansar continued their battle in the sky while Sagitta and I flew down together, Sagitta making it first and causing the two to break apart.
"You missed! Now you're finished!" Giansar roared, charging an energy blast in his hand to fire at Gila.
Gila smirked at Giansar and glanced to the sky then began looking up, feigning curiosity. "Hm? What's that?"
Giansar rose an eyebrow behind his helmet and glanced up at the sky, wondering what had caught Gila's attention. As he looked up, he noticed me descending like a crashing star, spinning swiftly and crashing down with a Disarming Axe Kick.
"Leo Arts: Solar Starfall!" I roared, crashing my foot against Giansar's neck and unleashed raw Helios Energy from my body.
Giansar's eyes rolled to the back of his neck, his neck cracking under the force of my attack then he was sent crashing to the ground where Sagitta landed. He groaned as he landed atop of Sagitta, the celestial arrow piercing straight through his head. Giansar weakly roared as his body shattered into nebula and ascended back to the skies.
Draco let out a roar as his head shifted over due to the Star of Noxius striking its head and turning it over to face it. Thuban began to shine brightly and twinkled with power, the luminary letting out a roar and casted down a perversed light toward me.
I smirked and snapped my fingers, calling Sagitta to me then summoned a fiery bow and fired Sagitta toward the light. The arrow clashed with Thuban's pillar of light, splitting it in two and shot it way up to the heavens. Thuban used Giansar and Ethanim to create a triple star system and evaded Sagitta before destroying my Sagitta using the light casting from the Star of Bethlehem.
"Oh, so you are going to be an issue.." I said, getting excited to face off against Draco, my heart pumping with adrenaline as I could feel Yesha's presence with me.
"Dad!" Gila called out, rushing over to where I landed and grunted as he looked up at the sky, noticing Draco facing toward the Star of Noxius. "It's targeting you now. What are we going to do?"
"Nothing. Thuban's focus is not on Vega anymore, but that only brings the issue to me. The Lyre is safe for now..." I said, looking up at the sky and crossed my arms. "But, that also means the son of destruction will be coming to me now.."
Judas grit his teeth as he noticed Thuban's shift in the air now focusing on the Star of Noxius. He looked back and ran off, clenching his fists tighter. "That fool is going to ruin everything!"
"Hey, you all stay here with Empress Dabih! I'm stopping whatever Judas is planning!" Peter said, running off after Judas and summoned his Polaris Rod.
Pauline and the others watched as Peter ran off after Judas, wondering what was going on then looked at the sky to see the Star of Bethlehem pushing Thuban closer to Shaula and Lesath and humming brightly. Lesath began to glow and grant Thuban energy, altering it's colors slightly.
"Judas, you stop where you are!" Peter called out, chasing after Judas then grunted as rushing black cloud pushed past him and entered into Judas.
Judas stopped where he was and grunted softly, the Crest of Thuban shining even brighter inside Judas' eye. Dark aura began to form around his body, Terminus now entered inside of him. "Once again...this one is mine.."
Peter stopped in his tracks and grunted softly before looking up to the sky to see Thuban humming a ruinous red glow. His eyes widened as he realized Terminus had entered Thuban and taken over it. "No...not this again!"
Judas chuckled softly and turned around to Peter and summoned Poisonous Claws in his hand, Scorpius Energy flowing throughout his entire body and spiking his energy levels into S+. "Once I deal with the Star of Noxius, the Lyre will be destroyed! You, Successor of The Rock, will not stop me!"
Peter gripped his weapon tighter and unsheathed the bottom to reveal a sword within the Polaris Rod. He got into his stance, goosebumps breaking out upon his arms from inner fear. "You are no different from your Ancestor...but this time, you won't get the chance to make the same mistake!"
Peter lunged forward with a slash, but Judas blocked with his claws and thrusted his hand forward to inject poison into Peter. Peter phased through his attack then warped into an aerial roundhouse kick, but Judas dodged and grabbed Peter's leg to slam him into the ground.
Peter grunted as he hit the ground and exclaimed as Judas lifted him back up and launched a body shot while he was in the air. Peter palmed his fist down then answered back with a crashing blow to his face, following it with an upper slash to knock Judas off balance.
Peter bellowed and awakened his Mark of God, his Willpower growing stronger by the second and his mind calming to obtain more clarity. "Judas Iscariot II, you will know God's power just as you already know His Grace! If I am a man of God, let Him watch this fued between brothers and let this one find his way back so I may strengthen him!"
Terminus laughed through Judas and awakened his black clouds around his body. "This was never meant to be a fair battle, Simon Peter II. You all fell right into my trap and while Antares won't be reaching here...your target is too far to hit! I am the Heart Draco needs to function!"
Peter grit his teeth as he felt Judas' darkness growing brighter, his Spirit becoming unnerved as Terminus spoke through Judas. "You enter Judas again...but you won't remain there!"
Judas smirked at Peter then launched an energy blast at the ground, the poisonous smoke rising and obscuring Peter's sight so Judas could escape. Peter coughed and covered his nose and mouth, charging out of the smoke and looked around to see Judas already gone.
"Lord, where did he go?!" Peter asked, searching around desperately then heard a neigh sound behind him.
Behind Peter, Reinhart rode forward upon his horse and held his hand out toward Peter. Without hesitation, Peter grabbed onto his hand so he could be pulled onto the horse's back then the two rode off after Judas to find and catch him.
"Whatever that man is planning, we can't let him succeed. He's too unstable and now being empowered by two stars, we can't risk him messing things up! The win conditions have changed! We stop Draco now because he's complete!" Reinhart called out, transforming into his Sharpshooter Form and summoned his bow.
"Wait! You only have one shot at this with Sagitta! We have to strike Terminus and not Judas or else Sagitta will pierce through...no Terminus is trying to make Judas into Luca!" Peter warned, grunting and grasping onto Reinhart as a beam of energy crashed beside them from the skies.
Reinhart's horse bellowed as she raced forward and evaded each beam the Star of Giansar fired at them, but she landed wrong upon dodging the next beam and crash landed. Reinhart and Peter grunted as they were thrown off horseback and into a river nearby.
Peter and Reinhart grunted as they began to sink into the water, a strand of seaweed wrapping around their legs and pulling them under. As their hands prepared to sink below, two hands reached down and began pulling them out of the waters as the figure stood upon the surface of it.
Peter gasped for air and looked up, his eyes widening as he noticed Yesha standing before them. "Yesha..!"
Reinhart coughed as well and looked up, noticing the Lord standing with them and pulling them out of the water. "Wait...you're here Lord? Where is Noxius?"
Yesha smiled at them and helped them into the shore and looked over to the end of the stream. "Judas will soon reach Noxius and they will fight. I have given you Sagitta for this moment as Nox's was used for its intended purpose. Remember your ancestor's mission, Peter. Strengthen your brothers in their faith as I have strengthened you."
Peter took a deep breath and exhaled softly then turned to the end of the river stream, looking down at the Heavenly Key hanging around his neck. "Alright, Lord. Let's do this."
I sat upon a tree stump as I waited with Gila, my eyes closed and arms crossed as I spoke with the Holy Spirit for reassurance and comfort. Gila yawned as he waited beside me, his back resting upon the tree stump and his hands behind his head as he watched Mayim fly around in the air.
"There you are, King of Qutsade!" Judas called out, huffing with deep breaths and a wide grin upon his face.
I opened my eyes slowly, chuckling softly as I heard Terminus's voice within Judas' tone. "So, Draco has finally come to me? The Mazzaroth Draco against just a single star. Well...good thing I also have a Decan of my own."
Gila turned his head to see who I was talking to then noticed Judas and chuckled. "Well, well! Looks like you've come back for round two? Good, I was actually getting tired of all this meditation as much as I enjoyed the peace!"
Judas glanced up at the sky, noticing the Deep Sea Spear constellation forming in the sky beside the Star of Noxius with the Star of Mayim glowing brightly with a mighty roar. He grunted softly as he noticed the Star of Bethlehem ripping through the skies and hovering over our battlefield to lead Peter and Reinhart.
"The time for running is over, Judas and Terminus. Now...you face my son and his Elonun Zone," I said, standing up and warping toward a tree branch. "Your time is ending soon, and you know it Terminus, but we will allow you some time to prove yourself. Dress yourself for battle like a man and face Gila Exzodia!"
Gila stood up on his feet and stretched his arms and legs, grunting softly and chuckled before rushing forward with a sweeping kick. Judas blocked his kick by turning his leg and returned a heavy kick to his face. Gila placed his hand on the ground and twisted his body, forcing Judas to miss and countered with a kick to the back of his head.
As Judas leaned forward, Gila performed a NY Flare and crashed his foot against Judas' jaw, knocking him to the side. Using Fluidity, Gila began wailing on Judas with a series of breakdance kicks and finished by blowing him away with Mayim's Heavy Crash into his stomach.
"Haha! After some time with Yuvah and my dad, I've learned some new tricks! This is one of them!" Gila said excitedly, smashing his hand into the ground and summoned an army of Sea Drakes from the river in front of him.
Judas opened one eye and noticed the volley of drakes crashing down toward him like arrows and tried to evade, but Mayim chomped down onto his torso and began dragging him against the ground. "Nnngh!!! Let me go you beast!"
Judas roared as he summoned his Spear of Hades and thrusted it into Mayim's snout, causing him to roar and release Judas. He released a pulse of darkness from his feet to propel himself to the sky, the Star of Thuban glowing brightly in the sky to bestow power into Judas.
Judas bellowed and began deflecting each Sea Drake that flew toward him and sliced the last drake in half, his grin widening with glee from his increased power. He looked ahead and grunted as he noticed Gila surfing on top of a Sea Drake, both of them coming straight toward them like a crash collision.
"Drakespin!" Gila yelled, leaping off his Sea Drake and as it began to spin rapidly then Gila missile dropkicked the spinning drake toward Judas.
Judas evaded the Sea Drake and chuckled, firing an energy blast toward Gila but he dodged it and flew around to land a devasting blow into Judas' side. Flying above him, Gila crashed his fist against Judas' cheek, causing him to spin in the sky then landed a crushing kick upon his back to send him higher in the air.
"Arutz," Gila called out, flying above Judas and spiking him to the ground with a double axe handle and charged up an energy blast in both hands. "Amuk!"
As Judas crashed onto the ground, Gila unleashed a wild torrent of holy water down toward Judas, the beam of water crashing down upon Judas with heavy force. Judas grunted as he emergency warped away from the beam then used a burst of energy to take off to the sky and propelled toward Gila.
"You're finished!" Judas bellowed, crashing his fist against Gila's cheek and sent him flying backwards.
Gila grunted as he flew through the trees in the outskirts of Meijian and chuckled, summoning a Sea Drake and snapped his fingers to call upon his Sacrifice Battle Zone. "Go!"
Gila's Sea Drake roared and flew toward Judas at high speed, willing to sacrifice itself in battle due to it knowing it will lose. As Judas cut through the Sea Drake with ease, the body of the drake became energy particles and entered one of the tombstones.
The tombstone began glowing and a stream of energy connected to Gila's body, immediately restoring his energy. "Arutz Amuk!"
Judas exclaimed in shock as Gila fired another Deep Ravine toward him, the beam washing over his body, but he emergency warped out once again. Flying around toward Gila to strike again, Gila smirked and turned his body and swung the beam around to strike Judas, rows of trees being blown down with Judas from the increased power due to Gila's momentum.
"Well...that was cute, now it's time for the rebuttal!" Terminus spoke through Judas, warping behind Gila and spiking him with a Demon Hammer to the back of Gila's head.
Gila landed onto his feet and looked up, noticing a flash of purple light in the sky and groaned as Judas' Spear of Hades crashed beside him and released a massive explosion. Gila rolled backwards and recovered onto one knee, looking up and noticed multiple black silhouettes forming around him.
"You will know my power," Terminus laughed, his voice echoing throughout the sunlit forest around Gila.
Suddenly, a barrage of Glitching Strikes began colliding against Gila's body. Judas' body stuttered and looped around Gila, each strike growing more heavier than the last, but Gila continued to stand strong with heavy grunts.
Judas struck Gila's back with an elbow, knocking him forward the warped in front of him with an uppercut and followed with a leaping spinning kick. As Gila flew backwards, Judas dashed ahead with the Spear of Hades in hand, connecting a series and deadly strikes upon Gila before knocking him away with a swing.
Gila grunted as he crashed into the Temple of Alshat, huffing softly as he landed onto one knee. He coughed lightly with a chuckle, slowly rising back to his feet and grunted as Judas warped in front of him, pinning him against the wall by his neck. "Don't...think you've won just yet..."
Judas smirked at Gila and strengthen his grip upon his neck, slowly draining Gila's Rebirth Energy within himself. "You might have caught me off guard...but look at who's grip you're under. You're under my mercy now."
Gila laughed at Judas' confidence, his bangs covering his left eye as he tilted his head down. "You're still under God's mercy...but at some point you will face consequences. Like right now! Mayim!"
Mayim roared loudly and ripped through the forest, chomping down on Judas and pushing him through multiple trees with violent force to protect his master. Throwing Judas in the air like a ragdoll, he roared loudly and fired multiple Deep Sea Spears into the air before flying upward with it.
"Do it now! Elonun Arts: Deep Judging Torrent!" Gila roared, his Alrean tattoos shining brightly with intensity as he called forth his Lock On Facility.
A giant bullseye formed upon Judas' body then shined gold, ensuring each Deep Sea Spear would hit without fail. Mayim roared and began firing down the aquatic arrows with great force, each arrow landing and detonating into an explosion which pushed Judas down onto the ground.
I watched as the blue smoke cloud only grew larger and larger, the spears coming down toward Judas like rainfall. As I watched from afar, I noticed Reinhart and Peter following the Star of Bethlehem toward the fight then looked over at Aquila's Eagle.
Aquila's Eagle nodded at me then flew off toward the battle between Gila and Judas, letting out its call to gain Reinhart and Peter's attention. The two men changed their path to follow the eagle while the Star of Bethlehem slowly began moving back to its original position in the heavens.
I leaped down from the tree and looked up at the Draco Constellation, balling my hands into fists and awakened my Sovereign Form before taking off to the skies. All three stars of Draco began shining with glee as I now approached them, dark clouds forming in the sky with purple lightning flashing within them.
Judas groaned as he rose onto his feet, staggering slightly and holding his head as the Crest of Thuban began flickering weakly in his eye. "Why...am I growing weaker..?"
Gila panted softly and chuckled softly at Judas' damaged figure, grunting softly as he nearly fell onto one knee. "You're not looking so hot anymore! What's the matter?"
Judas looked back at Gila and growled lowly, tossing his spear aside then charged toward him. "You'll grant me respect, you lowly beast!"
Gila laughed as he charged forward as well, the two striking each other's cheek as the same time and pushed each other back. They collided once again then entered a heated fisticuff, both sides blocking and evading each other's attacks, not giving each other the upper hand.
Gila palmed Judas' hand down and countered with a right hook, but Judas leaned back and launched a heavy uppercut to his jaw. Gila activated Icy Scales and tanked his attack with a laugh then roared as he countered Judas with a rib breaking body shot. Judas groaned as he staggered to the left and clutched his side, unable to block Gila's deadly gut blow.
Judas groaned heavily and coughed, staggering backwards while clutching his stomach and falling onto one knee. "An Alrean Smash..? Are you just a brute..?!"
"Judas!" Peter called out, finally making it to his brother and noticed Gila standing before him. "You..."
Gila looked back to see Peter and Reinhart arriving on the scene and smirked. "The calvary is here...I suppose you're here to put an end to him?"
Reinhart summoned Orion's Bow and Sagitta into his hands then took aim at Judas, locking onto him and awakened his Omni-Vision. "Not to him, but to the Spirit inside him."
A roar sounded in the sky along with explosions, everyone looking up to see the Stars of Thuban, Giansar, and Ethanim shining brightly as they spiralled around the Star of Noxius. Thuban tried to resist the Star of Noxius' gravitational pull, but could not stop itself from being pulled into correction.
Judas groaned as a corruptive energy began ripping out of his body as dark silver energy and flew back to the skies toward the Star of Thuban, his entire body now too weak to act or move. "Curse...that damn echo..!"
"If you're going to take your shot, it's best to do it now!" Peter called out, taking a step forward and looked forward at Judas with worry.
Reinhart nodded and focused his aim, making no mistake to target Terminus within Judas and not Judas' own compromised soul. "Zodiac Arts: Aquila vav Sagitta!"
Reinhart grunted as he fired Sagitta toward Judas, the arrow flying through the air with a golden stream of light following behind it. Terminus chuckled softly as the arrow began to grow close and exited Judas' body with a laugh, catching everyone's off guard as the arrow was prepared to pierce Judas.
Aquila's Eagle screeched loudly and flew ahead swiftly, beating the arrow to Judas then caused it to lock onto itself before taking off to the sky. The arrow swooped upward toward Aquila's Eagle and followed it toward Terminus, catching him off guard as Aquila's Eagle flew in front of him.
"Aquila!" Reinhart gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief as Aquila's Eagle prepared to take the hit for Judas.
Sagitta pierced Aquila through his body and went straight through Terminus's core as his black cloud form, his core shining brightly and bursting into a stellar explosion. Everyone watched in disbelief as Aquila's Eagle fell as star light particles flowed down with it, the events matching exactly as the constellations did.
The dark clouds vanished immediately as if God blew them away and an invisible hand reached down to catch Aquila's Eagle and raised Him back up to the heavens. The Stars of Thuban, Giansar, and Ethanim were gone from the day sky, leaving only Lesath, Shaula, and both Antares left to deal with.