The End of a Lifelong Struggle

[Inukazan]

Ace's arm flashed and burned brightly, confirming the need to act. He nodded in response to Jouten and Grinned this was his last chance, he couldn't waste it. He lowered his head like a bull and went into a dead sprint. His body being propelled by the sheer amount of power he had amassed. He threw his left hand forwards into a fist and felt it connect with Kain's body. Of course even armless Kain was bound to struggle, but there was no stopping the freight train that was now Ace. They kept moving forwards, moving like a bullet up and out of the crater. Ace drew his arm back and tossed Kain forwards. 'NOW!' He thought to himself allowing himself to use one last burst of power to accelerate himself towards Kain. Ace's life ended the moment his fist connected with Kain's chest.

Ace's speed has carried Kain and Himself well away from Jouten and Aaron, the intent being to get them out of the blast radius. Ace hadn't finished focusing the energy he had gathered. This was a suicide run there was no way he could contain the blast entirely on Kain. Still even with this knowledge he didn't really have much choice.

The explosion was grand, golden flames matching the sun in intensity, surpassing it in heat. The flames erupted from Kain's chest and spread outwards, spiraling from Ace's fist charring the area. They devoured Kain's form in an instant, and the flames seemed intent on claiming the entire area. Then Suddenly they stopped growing, slowly beginning to retreat toward the origin the explosion had turned in on itself. Ace watched as Kain was literally devoured by the flames and then his vision went. the golden flames blinding him to the world.

Ace's body was flung to the earth slamming into the a part of the crater. He stared up into the sky his eye's open but unseeing, his skin burnt and broken just like his bones. the Black jade that was in his forehead had shattered and turned to dust, black lightning sprouting in small jolts from the spot where the jade once rested. Even if Ace wanted to get up he couldn't, he couldn't even gather energy from the area to heal himself. He was amazed he was even alive. He knew he couldn't use that attack again it was the third time he had used it... Another attempt would devour him. Ace let out a shuddering breath. He gave a painful grin, he remembered at the very least he knew who he was. 'My name is Gabriel Sanhike'

[joutenkira]

Aaron watched as his friend's life ended, and a single tear fell down his face. He began to whimper and then hysterically cry. Jouten managed to lift Aaron up ; " Put your arm around my shoulder, we have to move. I know he was your friend but he was also the enemy."

Jouten looked around for Ace. After that explosion of energy that looked like the sun, he didn't know where he ended up but he could still detect a faint feeling of life, meaning he might be alive.

Aaron looked down at his beaten and bleeding body, and then to Jouten ; " I can longer fight, meaning you have to face Nitas alone. Don't be afraid, he can feast on that. Don't doubt yourself, he can use that against you. Don't fight him for vengeance, fight him since it is the right thing to do. These are the last of my teachings to you, become a much wiser man than me, Jouten."

" I honestly don't know how to stop Nitas, but it won't stop me from fighting. He is the final wall blocking peace and I intend to break it down." he replied to Aaron.

Suddenly another black wave of energy poured out around the area, and Zack appeared covered in blood alone. Jouten walked over to him ; " What happened to Rex? Did you manage to beat Zane?" he asked.

Zack shook his head with a look of despair ; " They killed each other, and since I was the only left alive, I was able to leave that dimension. I'm glad you all survived though, we can finally defeat Nitas."

Zack walked past Jouten and slouched down next to Aaron ; " I see you lost your friend as well. It happens in war, but we can move past it." Aaron nodded his head in agreeing, and smiled as Zack helped him to his feet.

Jouten was beyond calm at this point. He had confidence in his abilities, and he had one shot left with his ultimate attack. He needed to wear Nitas down before even attempting to use it.

He turned to face Tou ; " Do you think you can get Ace healed up? We are going to need everyone to end this."

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Nitas uncrossed his arms. He was disappointed in Kain's failure, and his forces being wiped out by a bunch of children. It was time to end this matter, he would kill them all.

He sunk into the ground through his darkness portal, and reappeared in front of Zack and Aaron ; " You miss me Aaron? I don't like traitors to my organization."

[Eden]

Tou raised an eyebrow before pointing the younger mans attention to Tsukiyo. "He is the healer" the older man deadpanned smirking at the other as Tsukiyo placed a hand over his face.

"I don't think now is really the time to be worrying about things like that Tou" Tsukiyo responded before running over to the crater that Ace was laying in. He began pulling out the multitude of green paper that held his antidotes, potions, elixirs and other healing remedies and began placing them onto Ace's body adressing each injury with the best cure or mixture of cures to help out.

[Inukazan]

Ace coughed a bit as his wounds were tended to, the idea that he actually survived that explosion was miracle enough. He couldn't help but grin as Tsukiyo did his work.

"First time I've ever hurt myself so bad I can't feel anything at all." He muttered under his breath trying to still himself. Slowing his breathing and activity to conserve energy. "Hey, Doc?" he asked almost sarcastically. "What are the chances I'll be able to get back in the fight?" He doubted he'd be able to the damage should take some time to heal. At least he thought so he wasn't sure of anything anymore. "I'd prefer to fight rather than smoke in this crater."

[Eden]

Tsukiyo smirked at Ace's attitude repressing the urge to laugh. "I think you will be up and ready to go in no time. The one perk of working with so many insanely powerful people is that I have picked up some rather extraordinary tricks that help to make up for the fact that I'm only a paper master"

[Inukazan]

"Aight, I'll not bother you while you work then. Besides it hurts to talk, anyways." Ace chuckled not longer willing to move until his doctor finished his work. 'On the bright side, at least there aren't any zombies eating my face.' He almost missed that place. Almost.

[joutenkira]

Nitas stood before Aaron and Zack, looking them both over.

" I think it's about time for me to take out the trash. You will all die here." he stated coldly as a wicked smile appeared on his face.

Zack quickly put Aaron down and swung out with his blade. Nitas blocked it, but Zack raised his right hand, quickly condensing a barrier around Nitas.

" Fuck you." he said as the barrier instantly condensed to the size comparable to an ant, destroying Nitas' body.

Jouten turned back into his normal form, looking at the small crater left by his friend.

He quickly rushed over and stepped next to Zack ; " I doubt that would do him in. Be prepared for whatever comes next."

Aaron pushed himself up barely, coughing up more blood while doing so ; " Be careful you two. His power has no limits, he does not tire, and he grows stronger the more hatred you have in your heart."

Suddenly darkness swelled up, and shot into the air. It grew into a giant blob, and shot out two smaller blobs onto the ground in front of Zack and Jouten.

The two blobs formed into two separate Nitas, each with their arms folded.

Jouten had some sweat pour down his face, he had never faced an opponent on this level before.

Zack took hold of his blade with two hands ; " Don't lose concentration, or we will both die. We need to end him."

[Eden]

Tsukiyo smirked continuing about his work while Tou stood over the two of them his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He had been watching the fight wage between the three of them and Nitas.

"Come Intridection we fight" he said pulling out the dark blade from its sheathe the shadows on the island darkening until they were all pitch black and seeming to almost reach for the blade. "You think you are the master of shadows Nitas? Let us see how far that gets you!" he yelled out holding the blade in the air above his head as more and more of the shadows from the island moved closer to him before lifting off the ground and circling around the blade. "Hunting Shadows!" he yelled slamming the blade down sending the tendrils of darkness out towards Nitas. The shadows twisted and looped through the air moving at the two bodies of his enemy from all directions honing in on them.

[Inukazan]

Ace observed as best he could from his spot trying not to move much but still be able to see the battle. the more he knew going in the better off he'd be when he got better. He couldn't do much now but if he could help the others at all he would do his damned best. This world this dimension was his own he'd fight to protect it as long as he could breathe. It was hard to kid himself he wanted to get in there and help it was equally frustrating that he couldn't yet. So instead he watched. He waited. He learned. He prepared, it would be a hard fight he was likely to harm himself he need to gather energy to bolster himself before the battle. luckily there was plenty around.

[joutenkira]

Nitas absorbed the the darkness as it hit him and his clone. The swirling blackness faded inside him and he smirked looking at his enemies.

" You all indeed hold some power, but it would be a pain to fight you all at once. Please have some fun with my friends" he said as more clones of him popped up around him.

There was about 8 clones total, and they all took off at rapid speeds towards the fighters still alive.

" Let me just inform you about something. My clones are just as powerful as me, and hold the same powers and regeneration abilities. The only way to stop them is to destroy me. Now let the real hell begin."

Zack pushed Jouten forward ; " Get your ass moving! You are the only one that can get near the real Nitas with your speed. Take him down, we can take care of this shit."

Jouten nodded his head as he used his Kirin Fu Zan and instantly closed the gap between Nitas and him.

" It seems like you think you can take me on. Remember you nearly died fighting against an incomplete me." he stated.

The two glared at each other, neither one making a single move.

Suddenly Jouten appeared behind Nitas using the Kirin Fu Zan again, and punched Nitas clean in the face. He quickly appeared in front of Nitas again and plummeted Nitas in the gut with a barrage of punches.

Nitas quickly attempted to grab Jouten, but once again he was too quick and appeared in the air above Nitas. He kicked Nitas hard enough to snap his neck, and Nitas stumbled backwards.

Jouten landed in front of Nitas, breathing hard. At his current level he could keep up the Kirin Fu Zan long enough to destroy Nitas for good.
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Nitas managed to straighten himself out and wiped the blood from his face. He didn't understand what trick the kid was using, but being able to toy with a God angered him greatly.

Sudden flashbacks of crying, blood, the face of a woman with a bright smile. Nitas tried pushing them out of his head, he had a goal and he would make sure it came to fruition.

[Eden]

Tou sighed flexing his shoulders. "You couldn't just die easily could you?" He asked cracking his neck for good measure. "I guess now we have to get serious intridection" he said as the blade pulsated somewhat in response. Tout ran forward being dragged down into the ground by the shadows and pulled into his realm. At the same time two of the clones were coming at Tsukiyo who didn't seem to be worried. As the clones neared Tou emerged from the ground pulling the clones down into the ground and abandoning them in the shadow realm that only his sword controlled. Within the other plane the beings were destroyed.

[joutenkira]

Nitas looked at Jouten with frustration, but then smiled. " Allow me to pay you back for hurting my pride. You're only human so you can't comprehend what is about to happen." he said raising his arm into the air.

Sudden black jets of high powered energy shot out from his hand, and turned around in midair heading towards Jouten. Nitas smiled as Jouten quickly dodged them, but didn't notice them turn around yet again behind him.

" Die you brat!" he shouted. Jouten quickly backflipped off the ground as the energy blasts flew past him again. They turned around once more but Jouten was already moving at high speeds dodging them again and again.

" I'm guessing these things won't stop chasing me until I'm dead. Ok then, time for plan B." he said appearing all around Nitas at once, leaving after images. Nitas attempted to scatter all the blasts around the battle field but something suddenly whispered in his ear.

" You are slow. It seems like you can't comprehend what is happening to you right now."

Nitas quickly tried turning around but Jouten landed a punch so strong it broke Nitas' rip cage. Suddenly the black energy decended on Nitas, but Jouten was already a good distance out of the way. The energy hit, leaving a cloud of smoke.

Jouten began to breath hard. He didn't know how long he could keep this up, since he had never used Kirin Fu Zan for an extended period of time, but it gave him the edge like never before.

Nitas emerged from the smoke, reforming his body. He couldn't believe the power this brat held, it was greater than what was predicted by the members of Salvation that battled the boy. With the power to move at the speed of light, Nitas realized he couldn't conserve energy like he originally planned on. He would get his revenge on this rotting world, but first he would need to destroy everything this boy represented.

Jouten turned his head to see that Aaron and Zack were managing to tear through the clones even with their wounds, meaning Nitas couldn't keep up a constant stream of power to them.

Jouten let out a sigh of relief that the others were able to put up a fight against the clones. He was done screwing around, this would be the ending he worked towards for so long coming to fruition. He quickly sped up to his max speed using Kirin Fu Zan and appearing all around Nitas. He kept punching him in the gut and face, quickly speeding away before Nitas could react. Determined to end it, Jouten charged up all his remaining energy for one final shot with his Railgun. He quickly appeared in front of Nitas, who tried slashing at Jouten with his summoned sword. Jouten appeared high in the air above Nitas ; " This is where it all ends you son of a bitch. No more death, no more trying to end the world with war!" he shouted.

He fired off an electric blast larger than any before straight down on top of Nitas. It hit Nitas dead on and he screamed with pain, as his body disintegrated into ash. The blast kept going and hit the ground, eating cleaning through it. Water sprung up from the giant hole created.

Jouten landed on the ground and fell over. He had completely erased Nitas, so hopefully that was enough to end the fight.

Zack and Aaron ran over to Jouten, now that the clone were completely gone.

" We need to get out of here, and soon. This island has less then 5 minutes left until it sinks. Even if Nitas is not dead, he won't be able to reform fast enough to escape this watery tomb." Aaron explained.

Jouten suddenly got an idea, and he licked his lips with anticipation ; " I know just what to do if he comes back. We need to get out of here though."

[joutenkira]

Energy spun around the island rapidly, forming in the center. It gathered in one place until it formed a human shape, and out of it walked Nitas.

"Being revived again in this manner is a bit tasteless. These little outbursts of yours need to stop boy. I will be leaving this island, and I will be taking this with me! Say hello to my machine that will capture all the souls of this planet!" he shouted as a giant grey piller was raised out the ground.


Jouten turned to face Aaron and Zack " You two need to leave with everyone else. This fight is about to become something that will destroy this place, so go now!"

Zack nodded his head with a sheepish grin and replied " I understand. This is your fight to finish, don't let us down. Try coming back alive."

He held out his hand and Jouten quickly shook it. Aaron remained silent but he and Jouten locked eyes, and there was understanding between them. Aaron formed a paper familiar and the two of them jumped on it. Jouten turned his attention back to Nitas, who had summoned his sword and calmly walking towards him.

" I won't hold anything back this time. This will truly be our last battle." Jouten declared with passion in his voice, and fire in his eyes.

[joutenkira]

Jouten concentrated all his energy. Suddenly there appeared to be a wind around Jouten. He stood straight up and a blackish red aura swirled around him, spiking his hair. His eyes turned red and a two handed red sword appeared in the air. He quickly caught it and it swung it around and held it out in front of him with his right hand.

This was his third time using Aura mode since coming to the island, and it would probably drain him completely since he couldn't use it in a short burst here. This fight would be prolonged, and would most likely kill him. Fear wasn't something he felt at the moment. There was a sense that things needed to end, that no matter what happened, his life of battle would end here.

"It seems you learned a few new tricks. I believe from what I witnessed during your battle with Kain, that form is the result of gaining control of Shunketsu's power. Interesting, that will make this battle all the more impressive. It's like I'm fighting against my old nemesis again, and it gives me a thrill!" Nitas exclaimed with a short of twisted joy in his voice.

Jouten remain silent, as the red aura danced around him. He decided it was time to ask something that had been bothering him for awhile. He looked up, uncertain how his question would be answered.

"Why do you hate humans so much? Is there a reason you want to see this world burn? I have been fighting against you all this time, but I don't understand the reasoning behind everything you have done. I need to end this, and that includes closing the chapter on your story." As Jouten said this, he saw something flash by on Nitas' face. Genuine emotion, something he lacked up til now. There was longing and sadness on his face, if even for a brief moment, and it surprised Jouten. Then it vanished, and only anger was in its place.

"You would be surprised about the true origins of your race. I might have been around from the supposed beginning of this world, but the human race has much more history than that. The human race was much more powerful, and ruthless. Their power was unrivaled, and all enemies fell before them, even darkness beings like myself. There are very few people with bloodlines from the true ancients, but most of the immortals that are currently in this world are descendents of them. The "ANGEL" that your soul is reincarnated from was actually one of those ancient humans, but as the bloodlines thinned, and the human race became weaker, the ones with real power were regarded as higher beings or gods. I was also once an ancient human, but I was betrayed by men and woman I once called my family. Being twisted by darkness, it shaped my soul and who I am today. I have lived along time, and most of the human race saw me as a mistake. I'm simply repaying the race that tried to wipe me out in earnest, I will destroy them first."

Jouten understood that pain. He understood Nitas. It didn't change what he had to do though. He needed to wipe out any threat to this world, even if this world was once corrupt.

"You have a right to feel the way you do then. I won't try to act like any of this is simply in shades of black and white, we are surrounded by grey. We will now just be two men fighting for their convictions, nothing else. May the best man win." Jouten said as he rushed forward at Nitas.

Nitas smirked, he obviously agreed with what was just said. This fight would no longer hold words, just conviction. The giant grey pillar behind Nitas began to spin rapidly. Thousands upon thousands of white orbs flew out of it, and into Nitas. The sudden flash blinded Jouten, who stopped in his tracks.

"What the hell!?" he exclaimed.

"This is the same machine I am going to use to absorb all the souls in this world. I used the souls already stolen from the people I killed just now to give me the power boost I need to get up to my original power. I am now truly complete!" Nitas shouted as the dust cleared. He was now fully enclosed in a black aura that resembled a cloak. He now also held two swords in his hands, one fully black and the other fully red.

"Welcome to my Level 3 form. I haven't shown the true form of Fuzen in a very long time. You are now the only opponent in this world that can give me a challenge. Prepare yourself. We will end this now."

Nitas rushed forward, and Jouten met him instantly. Jouten swung out with his sword, but Nitas blocked with his red blade and then swung at Jouten's gut with his black blade. Jouten jumped up, landing on the blade before it slashed him. He quickly kicked Nitas in the face, sending him flying backwards.

Jouten raised his right hand, and fired off a full powered Rail Gun straight at Nitas. Nitas smirked and was completely engulfed in his energy cloak. As the attack hit him, it was cancelled out completely.

(It seems like he has both a strong offense and defense, but what is his special ability? He has yet to show his hand.) Jouten's thoughts were ones of paranoia. He had no idea what to expect from his enemy, but he still had to make the first move before Nitas got the chance.

[joutenkira]

Jouten threw his sword into the air, and about two hundred more swords spawned in the air around him. The sheer amount of power it took to keep all those objects controlled was apparent, and each sword was a different shape and design. Nitas looked on at Jouten's technique with a shocked expression.

"What the hell? What kind of power is this? I have never seen a technique where one can form objects out of thin air." he exclaimed while glaring at Jouten.

Jouten looked at him and smirked " This is possibly my most offensive ability I have. I actually just made up the name for it; Descent towards Retribution!"


He lifted his right hand and aimed it at Nitas, and suddenly all the swords converged on his location.

Nitas jumped up but the swords followed him into the air. He attempted to block them with his cloak, but suddenly noticed that they were powered by electricity. The electric boost allowed one of the swords to pierce him through, and all the other blades quickly followed, stabbing through him in rapid succession. He remained floating in the air, gasping for breath, the swords impaling him from every possible way. He looked like a bloody indescribable mess. Suddenly the swords all shot out from him, and the bleeding slowly ceased. The parts of his body that were run through healed, and he wiped blood away from his lips.

"Damn it. Where the hell did he go!? I won't let you get away with that boy, just you wait. I have the advantage in the sky, you will not be able to fight me up here without having your paper familiar shot down." Nitas said while desperately looking around on the ground for Jouten.

"Behind you!" a voice shouted. Nitas spun around and saw Jouten flying up towards him, shooting out energy from two katana blades that boosted him up to Nitas' level.

"What the hell!?" he shouted as Jouten sliced him in half with both blades.

"Gotcha!" He said with a smirk.