Greatest of All Time – Season 2Chapter 8: The Shadow Beast's Judgment
The ancient temple trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The Legendary Sword resting upon its altar suddenly released a brilliant golden light.
For a moment...
Everything became silent.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The earth exploded.
Black smoke swallowed the entire temple.
A gigantic claw covered in darkness slowly emerged from beneath the ruins.
One...
Two...
Four glowing crimson eyes opened.
A voice echoed throughout the dimension.
"Who dares seek the Legendary Sword?"
Every student froze.
Even the strongest among them couldn't move.
The monster slowly revealed its true form.
A colossal beast wrapped in black scales, shadow flames, and crimson chains.
Its roar alone shattered mountains.
The Shadow Beast had awakened.
Before anyone could react—
WHOOSH!!
The Shadow Beast vanished.
Arashio's instincts screamed.
Too late.
BOOOOOOOM!!
A single claw strike launched Arashio hundreds of meters away.
Stone pillars exploded.
Blood splattered across the ground.
"ARASHIO!!"
Siya screamed.
Arashio slowly stood...
Then collapsed onto one knee.
His entire body trembled.
"...It's... strong..."
The monster wasn't even trying.
No One Can Win Alone
The remaining teams finally reached the battlefield.
Raven stared at the monster.
"...Impossible."
Ren clenched his sword.
"If we fight separately..."
"...we're dead."
Kairo stepped forward.
His calm voice echoed through the battlefield.
"Listen carefully."
"No more Team One."
"No more Team Two."
"No more Team Three."
"From this moment..."
"We fight as ONE."
Silence.
Then—
Every student nodded.
For the first time...
Eighteen young warriors stood shoulder to shoulder.
The Battle of Hope
"ATTACK!!"
Phoenix flames lit the sky.
Thunder Eagles tore through the clouds.
Shadow Wolves rushed forward.
Crystal Butterflies filled the battlefield.
Dozens of Monster Souls attacked together.
KABOOOOOM!!
The Shadow Beast simply raised one arm.
Every attack exploded before reaching it.
The shockwave blasted everyone backward.
Students crashed into rocks.
Trees shattered.
Even the temple walls cracked.
The beast hadn't moved a single step.
The Price of Protection
The Shadow Beast gathered a sphere of pure darkness.
Its target—
Alya.
She froze.
She couldn't escape.
Suddenly—
"Move!"
Siya pushed Alya away.
BOOOOOOM!!
The blast pierced Siya's shoulder.
Blood stained her school uniform.
Her Phoenix wings disappeared.
She fell into Arashio's arms.
"...Arashio..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"...Don't lose..."
Her eyes slowly closed.
Everything around Arashio became silent.
The world turned gray.
His hands shook.
"No..."
"No..."
"SIYA!!"
His scream echoed across the entire dimension.
Inside the Soul World
Darkness.
Silence.
James stood with his arms crossed.
Saku looked toward the unconscious Arashio.
"...He's breaking."
James smiled sadly.
"Then..."
"Let's remind him."
The two legendary souls walked forward together.
Blue lightning danced around James.
Crimson flames surrounded Saku.
Both reached out their hands.
"Stand up."
"Your story..."
"...doesn't end here."
The Twin Soul Awakening
Arashio's eyes snapped open.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Blue lightning exploded into the heavens.
Crimson fire swallowed the battlefield.
His right eye glowed like burning blood.
His left eye shone brighter than lightning itself.
Every student looked up in disbelief.
"What... is that power?"
Even the Shadow Beast stepped back.
For the first time...
It felt fear.
The Strongest Guardian
Arashio vanished.
BAM!!
His punch cracked the monster's armor.
The Shadow Beast roared and countered instantly.
CRAAACK!!
Its tail shattered Arashio's left leg.
Bone snapped.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Arashio crashed into the ground.
James shouted,
"Your body can't keep up!"
Saku gritted his teeth.
"One more attack..."
"...and you'll never walk again."
Arashio slowly smiled despite the pain.
"...Then..."
"...I'll end it with one."
The Final Bond
Kairo raised his sword.
"Everyone!"
"Believe in him!"
Without hesitation—
Every Monster Soul released its full power.
Phoenix Flames.
Thunder Eagles.
Shadow Wolves.
Golden Serpents.
Crystal Butterflies.
Eighteen souls became one.
Their power flowed toward Arashio.
Blue lightning.
Crimson flames.
Golden light.
Three colors surrounded him.
He looked toward the Shadow Beast.
"...This..."
"...isn't my strength."
"It's OUR strength."
He leaped into the sky.
The heavens split apart.
The clouds were blown away.
James smiled.
"Finish it."
Saku grinned.
"Together."
Arashio drew both fists back.
"TWIN SOUL..."
The world shook.
"LEGEND BREAKER!!"
KAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A pillar of crimson and blue light pierced the heavens.
The Shadow Beast let out one final roar...
Then shattered into millions of glowing fragments.
Silence.
The impossible battle...
Had been won.
The altar slowly opened.
The Legendary Sword floated into the air.
Instead of one person claiming it...
All eighteen students reached out together.
The sword accepted all of them.
When they returned to school, the principal smiled proudly.
"You didn't become heroes because you were the strongest."
"You became heroes because you fought as one."
Every student's rank increased.
Arashio looked at his status.
Rank: D
He smiled.
"...I'm finally getting stronger."
Siya gently smiled back.
"I knew you would."
For the first time...
Peace returned.
But only for a moment.
The Beginning of the Real War
The next morning...
Classes had just begun.
Suddenly—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Every window shattered.
Students screamed.
The sky became pitch black.
One...
Ten...
Fifty...
Hundreds of colossal spaceships descended through the clouds, blocking out the sun.
The school shook violently.
A massive dragon-shaped flagship slowly opened.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the battlefield.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
A towering figure clad in black dragon armor stepped from the smoke.
Golden dragon eyes.
A flowing crimson cape.
A sword forged from dragon bones rested upon his shoulder.
The pressure alone forced teachers and students to their knees.
He looked directly at Arashio.
Then smiled.
"So..."
"You are the vessel chosen by James and Saku."
"Allow me to introduce myself..."
The sky split apart as countless dragons roared behind him.
"I am the Dragon King..."
"...and today, your peaceful life ends."
Arashio slowly stepped forward.
One eye burned crimson.
The other glowed neon blue.
He clenched his fist.
The Dragon King smiled wider.
Behind him...
Millions of dragon soldiers emerged from the spaceships.
The invasion of Earth...
Had begun.