BOOOOOMMM!
In the air, the sound of thunderous booms ruled the sky, and on the ground, Lightning crashed ceaselessly. The rainfall blocked out most of what could be seen in the distance. The powerful rain isolated the Arena from the outside world. It isolated me and Eve's bodyguard.
Thor was his name. It was fitting. His power was control of lightning. He must have been the one who brought on this storm.
I looked up, analyzing the black clouds that surrounded Theta, blocking everything out completely. They were so large and dark that it was impossible for them to be natural. There was also the fact that I assumed there to be two layers of coverage. While the barrier did extend high, it wasn't high enough for so many clouds to be present on the inside.
I turned to look at the man who was responsible. He was standing on the other side of the arena, facing off against me, Lightning flickered off of his body violently, striking out at the ground and nearby trees. He was completely dry, as the rain didn't touch him at all. It avoided him as if he was standing under an invisible umbrella.
In between us, there was a massive trail of the ground. Where he had nearly beaten me to death beforehand. The ground was dotted with cracks and scarred from the heat of the lighting.
When I had awoken, he wasn't beating on me. Despite the fact that I had spent God knows how long unconscious, he hadn't attacked me. In my mind, I thought back to the moment before I had fallen unconscious. He had ceased his attack back then as well. He had looked me in the eyes, and there I saw fear, vulnerability, violation.
He had looked to me for help in that moment. I picked up my blade from the ground, shaking the dirt off of it.
I took note of the heart on top. I remembered Suijin's question. Did I have an answer for it?
What about your heart?
I remembered how Yuki had told me to follow me heart, to do what I wanted and enjoy myself.
"I want." The words felt a bit out of place on my tongue, and my voice was husky. However, I paused through anyways.
I thought back to a time in the past where I gazed at ocean and felt something. When I had told Kami that I wanted to experience the world. I thought back to those memories.
I thought back to the words I had been given. That even if I fell, she would be there to catch me. I wouldn't be alone. Someone would help me through my mistakes.
"I want to be free."
The words hung out in the air. A warm feeling rushed through my body. The words weren't washed away by the ceaseless pounding of the wind. They were strong. I felt a weight in my chest lift.
I stepped forward, turning my gaze back to Thor. As he looked at me, I could see the same pleading look in his eyes. I realized it in that moment that what he was doing was against his will.
He had his control, his autonomy taken away from him by Eve. Just like she had done to me. He had spent his life watching as he did things he didn't want to, forced to be a passenger in his own body.
I could sympathize with him. I could understand it. I spent my entire life until this moment the same exact way. Unlike me however, he wasn't given the opportunity to free himself. He wasn't given the chance to break away from his chains.
And so, he was asking me to help him. He was pleading with me. If I was in that same situation, I would want the same.
And so, I was going to honor his decision. As someone who had experienced the same thing at the same person's hand. I would honor it, and I would free him.
I took another step forward, unsheathing my blade. Unleashing all 5+ feet of metal and its glory.
At the same time, Thor began to move. He reached his hand out to the side. The lighting grabbed a piece of the trunk of a nearby tree, ripping it off and pulling it towards Thor. As it flew towards him, the lighting burned off pieces, reshaping it.
Once it landed in Thors hand, it had been transformed into a hammer. One resembled Thor's hammer. A hammerhead that resembled a capital T.
He fortified the creation with mana, and imbued it with lighting, which caused all of its inscriptions and designs to glow blue.
He began to walk forward. Our eyes were looked the entire time.
As soon as we were a few feet away from each other, we began to circle each other, like two predators locked in a territorial fight.
As I circled him, I pointed my sword, and he did the same with his hammer.
"I. Raiden Chisaki."
Thor's face seemed strained for a moment, but then, he spoke.
"I. Raijiin."
"I will liberate you."
With that affirmation, I dashed forward, and Thor did the same.
As we clashed in the center of the field, lightning flashed and cracked, reaching out all across the arena.
The ground below shattered, and I could feel the force of the blow reverberating through my bones.
At the same time, Thunder BOOMED massively overhead. It signified the start of the battle.
Between the two meant to rule the sky.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Lightning sparked wildly around the battlefield, mercilessly vaporizing anything that was misfortunate enough to be put in its blast radius.
The ground below had ben vaporized and upturned so many times that it felt like I was standing on cotton.
I swung my blade in a wide arc, sending a wave of lightning right at Thor.
Thor easily sidestepped the lightning, before throwing his hammer straight at me.
I dodged out of the way, but as I turned to attack, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
Dodging again, I barely avoided the hammer as it came back for a second go.
Shit! Is this guy actually Thor?
I thought as I dashed forward and clashed blades with him once more. Sparks went flying once again.
The impact was so powerful that we were both blasted backwards, however I didn't allow myself to be forced back for too long. Immediately jumping high into the air, I held out my own blade, channeling lightning through it.
Using a defense spell to create a shield, I used it to create a midair foothold that I rocketed off of.
Thor didn't waste any time, jumping off of the ground to meet me in the air. Once again, we clashed, causing a massive explosion of light to engulf the arena.
This time, I was forced back by the force of the blow and crashed into a nearby portion of the magic academy.
Before I could even get my bearings, a massive beam of light flew straight at me. I instantly pushed out of the crater, running along the wall as a massive beam of lightning began to chase me along the wall, carving up the material.
The smell of burning and ashes filled my nose.
Just as the wall ended, I turned around and activated a magic sequence. Combining a defense spell with a portal spell and then layering it with a speed boosting spell.
As the massive wave of lighting reached me, I swung my blade. The defense spell that it was coated in allowed for me to neutralize the power of the spell. I cut the lightning wave clean in half, before using the portal spell to send the bisected spell back at Thor.
Thor barley managed to dodge them both, but as he turned to face me, it was too late.
I was already in the air, directly above him. I held my blade high preparing a powerful slash.
Reflexively, Thor raised his hammer and coated it in a defense spell to block, however my attack was just a feint.
Instead, I allowed my momentum to carry me past Thor, and I sheathed my blade.
Activating my ability, perfect counter.
As I fell back down to the ground, 3 slashes appeared on Thor's body. As Thor turned back to face me, I was already pivoting, holding my sheathed blade at my said.
Gripping the handle tightly, I unsheathed the blade and slashes at the same time, letting out a mega wave of lightening. The ground below me cracked and cratered from the force of the blow, and a path was torn through the rain.
"Cloud Shattering slash!" I said under my breath, as Thor just barely managed to raise his hammer up in time. However, it didn't stop the whole attack, and a horizontal red gash appeared along Thor's chest.
Behind him, the clouds that were within the barrier were literally blown away from the force.
Thor fell back to the ground, his landing causing a plume of smoke to rise in the air.
As I watched and waited for my opponent to make their next move, a brief though flashed through my head.
Why was I only using lightning spells?
I had just made the realization. Besides the spell is used to facilitate my attacks, the only damaging spells I was using were lightning spells.
Even when I had used my ability perfect counter, I imbued my blade in lightning.
Was it because I wanted to prove that I was stronger? Did I really still operate on childish things like that?
As I began to think about it, I heard a voice.
■■■■■: I think you can cut yourself a little slack.
I was momentarily shocked as her voice came over me. "You're really still here?"
■■■■■: Of course. I made a promise that I intend to keep. I'll always be there for you.
I was about to say something else, however in that moment Thor attack, throwing his hammer, which caught me square in the chest.
I could feel a sharp pain in my rib cage, accompanied by the numbing feeling of lightning coursing through my body.
The hammer seemed to have a mind of its own, dragging me across the ground and through multiple battlements and portions of the magic academy.
The path of the hammer even curved to return right back towards the arena. The power of the lightning imbued within the hammer was also steadily increasing.
In that moment, and Idea washed over me. I could end this battle in one swift blow if it worked.
Clinging unto the hammer, I began to steadily absorb the output power of the lightning. I began to absorb the power steadily, combining it with some of my own mana.
Waiting until the hammer was just about to return to Thor, I let go, allowing myself to land on top of the Arena.
Before I could execute that strategy though, I was blindsided by a blow from my left.
And then another one to my right, which sent my crashing into ground.
I tried to recover; however, I was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers.
And then I realized it.
When I had jumped through the portal to return to the battlefield, Ichijo and Genji were battling against many different opponents. All of them under Eve's control.
Another blow hit me, causing me to cough out blood. My vision blurred. I had dropped my sheath somewhere along the way, so I couldn't even use my ability to escape this situation.
There were six of them. One in an all-black suit. One in a yellow suit with claws. One with a red suit. One with a blue suit, and one wearing red and black. Along with Thor.
I was caught in the endless cycle of attacks. I did the best that I could to defend myself, However I was too disorientated to defend myself properly.
I was knocked into the air by what felt like a shield, before two people with claws attacked me. After that, I was knocked straight into the ground by a massive blast of lightning and flame.
I crashed into the center of the magic arena.
Above me, six figures landed in the stands, with Thor floating above me. It looked like something I'd see in a marvel comic.
Holding his hammer high into the air and channeling lightning, he sent out a wave of lightning to crash into my body.
And he held it there. Constantly pumping more and more and more.
I began to grow numb, and I could feel my body seizing.
Blood and foam dripped down my throat, and the scent of something burning filled my nose.
I had more than enough energy to execute my plan, however there wasn't an opening. Even if this endless wave of lightning ceased, there were 5 others watching me, ready to jump in.
Dammit! Your name literally symbolizes lightning, and yet here you are, about to meet your maker to it?
Didn't you say you were going to liberate him. Liberate all of them? Get up!
But no matter how much I struggled; I could not escape.
That was until-
"RAIDEENNNNN!!!!!"
Someone shouted my name at the very top of their lungs.
In that moment I was liberated from the jail that was the constant lightning. All at once, all 6 of my attackers turned their heads to the voice who had shouted.
I knew who the voice belonged to.
Of course she'd find me. Of course, she'd stupidly shout out and draw the attention of all the enemies to herself.
That's just the type of person Hikaru Hina was.
However, her distraction was perfect. Standing on my two feet, I released all of the energy I had been absorbing. A massive amount of lightning erupted from my body, surrounding me and flickering around wildly.
I had absorbed more energy than originally planned, so my control over this state was weak.
However, I used electrification, applying it to my whole body.
I could feel my speed and power rise exponentially, more than should have been possible. And that was because under normal circumstances this much should have been impossible.
However, because of all the energy I had absorbed, this spell was operating a 200%
Lighting raged, and the clouds began to swirl around me. The wind blew violently around me, tearing chunks of the ground out.
Clutching my sword, I stepped forward.
Moving faster than even light itself I cut down all 6.
One swift slash to the neck.
In each of their eyes I saw relief. I saw happiness.
I saw thankfulness.
I had liberated them from Eve's grasp.
After I cut down Thor and landed on the ground, a massive explosion of lightning and energy filled the entire arena, rising up high into the sky and completely blowing away all of the clouds.
The ground of Theta shook violently as if it was experiencing an Earthquake, and the very sky and ground itself cracked from the pure power of the blow. With one attack I had cleared a majority of the sky. Even the clouds outside the barrier were blown away. For what seemed to be miles and miles and miles that stretched out infinitely, the clouds were blown away. The sun began to shine down.
And slowly, the heavens began to smile down at Theta once more.