In confusion, the unit before me began firing on itself in fear—reacting more on impulse due to the fact that they didn’t realize one them had become possessed. Their leader deliberately and unemotionally killed his own people until they realized, much too late, what had happened.
Abul stepped beside me in his demon form and appeared as furious as ever.
“Nagao has erred greatly. Tavon,” he hastily turned to me, “I can only control one of them right now—you’ve got to—”
“Right!”
I sprung into combat after three remaining thugs had encircled the last possessed shooter and promptly gunned him down. But I was upon them, and I broke the neck of one of the gang members as I swung my forearm to connect right below the occipital region of his skull. I followed by using the same arm to shatter my next opponent’s jaw and then swung my other fist out and around to drop his companion.
Behind me, the last foot soldier on the cruiser had frozen in place and gritted his teeth in fear. His arms struggled with sheer intensity to steadily raise the rifle he so desperately clutched.
“TAVON!” Abul screamed. “HURRY!”
I sprinted and stepped off the top of his rifle to launch a kick upward and into his chin, knocking him back before he limply sank to the ground.
My power was still growing; it ebbed and flowed, building on itself as I kept fighting for my life.
“Wait up.” Abul rushed toward me to pat my back. “Hold on, Tavon; you’re losing yourself!”
“I feel… fine.”
The demon gazed into my eyes and must have induced a spell of his own, because I immediately felt my adrenaline subside and a sense of calm come over me.
I realized I’d just killed almost all of the Nagao onboard.
“Tavon,” Abul spoke worriedly, “There’s one more thing I have to tell you—and I can’t believe I didn’t feel this before…”
It felt odd to speak, to act normally again. “What’s wrong?”
The demon prince’s features revealed despair.
“I’m not the only demon on this ship.”
To my left, a monitor flickered for a brief period of time before transitioning into a clear picture displaying… the Nagao gym, crowded with a multitude of spectators not only from the Meiziki and Nagao.
Mendo, upon arrival and garbed in only plain clothes, moved toward the center of the gym before using a paintbrush to illustrate the borders of the arena. He managed to create a large radius before discarding the brush onto the floor in disrespect of the Nagao.
He seated himself cross-legged within the circle and closed his eyes while becoming still. Mendo waited patiently for his challenger.
“I was forced to stop the ship because of you two…”
“Open the door to the control room!” Abul growled.
On the broadcast, the Elder was positioned on his throne in the distance and slightly elevated above all others. It was the first time I’d seen him use anything close to a chair, and I assumed it must have been for decoration before the planned annihilation of his rivals.
The last portal before us slid apart. Standing at the center and encircled by dozens of holographic monitors above a series of control panels installed across the room, Naizo appeared pale. He’d been forced to use his last defense.
“Muromusz… he wanted this.” Abul was shocked for reasons apart from my own.
Beside Naizo, there stood a withering entity. It was an entity having been composed of a grey-hued substance akin to clouds drifting through the might of a vast storm. The figure possessed the outline of a face but no other definable features, a surreal silhouette of a humanoid whose essence was surrounded in a threatening aura.
ABUL SHIKON
The voice of something otherworldly echoed throughout the chamber; the demon’s mouth simply opened and exposed nothing but an endless void.
“Tavon… this is my uncle’s son, Dejinden.”
“A very last-minute idea.” Naizo added, attempting to regain his usual smugness. “Muromusz envisioned a new heir to represent the Shikon lineage…”
My rage was beginning to overflow, but I contained myself long enough to speak without sounding like an animal. “You already planned to replace both of us? Was the Elder in on this?!”
Naizo smirked. “What do you think?”
My heart raced; I wanted revenge.
The Nagao heir continued taunting us. “The Elder requested that Tavon be spared in case he supported furthering our cause, but Abul… we believe retiring him is best for Nagao’s future—”
“Damn you!” I hated his shallow outlook.
“Muromusz has wanted me dead… I sensed his intent, but I did not believe he would deliver in this way.” Abul peered at the ground.
THE TIME OF THE SHIKON HAS PASSED
A NEW WAY MUST COME
The demon’s voice had grown increasingly painful; I’d have to confront both of them now…
“But don’t you want to know what’s going on back home?” Naizo raised an eyebrow, his arrogance having made a significant comeback. He gestured toward a screen facing us, and I immediately noticed Rokshasa being outfitted in the traditional plated armor used by older members of the syndicate…
--
After he’d tightened various straps attached to pieces of armor tactically and symmetrically positioned across his frame, Rokshasa struggled against the sheer weight of the protection before slowly adjusting as he walked with a wider gait. The Elder addressed him and spoke in a lowered tone before sending the samurai on his way…
--
“Believe me,” Naizo began, “I considered allowing Rok to remain a samurai as long as he succeeded…” The heir snickered. “But I despise him, regardless of what he can do in combat—besides,” his eyes burned with maddened excitement, “he’ll be nothing to me now!”
“You’ve always been such a fool.”
--
Rokshasa bowed to the silent figure of Mendo. Mendo remained seated on the ground, statuesque and unresponsive. The samurai seemed taken aback when his former mentor failed to react, and so he came to stand at a distance before his opponent and positioned his ax horizontally before himself as the Elder proceeded to make his opening announcement:
“It is not often that the Nagao hold such contests of might, nor is it often that we allow our enemies past our borders to witness such a noble event.” Elder Nagao welled with a sense of pride. “Brothers and sisters, I’m reminiscing over a time when the Citadel was once a battlefield ripe for one to discover glory on his or her own.
“Today, the Nagao—the strongest empire this world has ever seen—have been asked to prove themselves in combat. Mendo… my son! –champions the cause of the Meiziki, and I’ve chosen our greatest warrior to meet the call to arms!
“Whether Rokshasa succeeds or fails today…”
--
“You’ll attack them.” I finished for him. “All of them.”
“Hmph.” Naizo smiled. “I made one last call to my father before you arrived… he looks forward to a new future.” The heir’s body began to tense in a similar way to my own; he was gradually becoming stronger than he’d ever been.
“Dejinden Awakened Naizo!” Abul gasped. “But he’s not ready for that kind of power! His mind… i-it can’t—”
Humans fall into the same trap
Preservation
Greed
Is everything to them
“I’ve been made into a God!” Naizo shouted with building aggression.
--
“We all have our own business to conduct—so without further ado, I’d like to commence the duel between the Nagao and Meiziki; this is the final match to decide true supremacy.” The Elder bowed before unexpectedly disappearing after the crowd grew quiet to watch the battle.
Mendo hadn’t moved.
Rokshasa, feeling somewhat annoyed, awkwardly got to his feet and waited for a moment; he paused for his opponent to rise as well, but the Meiziki
champion remained at peace with his odachi resting before him.
“Is this a joke to you!?” Rokshasa inquired angrily. “Can you not pay me the most basic respect, Mendo?”
“…”
“Hmph.” The samurai prepared himself and shrugged off what he perceived as an insult. “Rise to fight me, Mendo!”
The warrior lunged forward and roared with pride before slowing slightly and using enough precision to swiftly bring his ax through! … To strike the ground several feet in front of Mendo—who’d remained in place the entire time.
Rokshasa stepped back and breathed heavily, his eyes wild as if he’d seen something hideous—something disturbing.
“What!?” The samurai backed away upon noticing Mendo. “I thought…” He gritted his teeth. “It’s another bloody trick!”
He ran forward and swung the blade of his ax…
—Onto the floor behind Mendo’s peaceful figure, and he stumbled before nearly falling to his feet.
“So-so… much blood!” He screamed while peering at his arms. “Mendo! I’m sorry…” Rokshasa began to weep as he dropped his weapon and fell to his knees.
Just then, Mendo sighed and nonchalantly stood to his feet. He picked up his weapon in a lazy fashion. “And here I thought you were beyond this old trick…”
“Mendo!?” Rokshasa turned and seemed to be frozen in fear.
“Have you not grown, Rok?” Mendo taunted and finally readied himself as the two warriors circled each other. “Nagao’s greatest warrior… is this the best you can do, ‘samurai?’” Mendo locked out one arm and held the odachi straight as he aimed it toward Rokshasa’s head. His demeanor expressed a type of hunger I’d felt upon fighting the Nagao thugs…
“You haven’t trained in some time, Mendo.” Rokshasa smiled, an expression that seemed to slightly shock his rival.
“Oh?”
“I can predict your moves; your illusions are all you have now.” Rokshasa exclaimed triumphantly, and he charged forward.
Rokshasa came at his opponent with a low sweep, his speed appalling everyone including Mendo himself!
The Meiziki champion stepped in before stopping the bottom portion of the wooden handle with one hand and then proceeded to move into a stance where he attempted to push the samurai back with his other.
Rokshasa reacted quickly, deflecting Mendo’s outstretched arm before he tightened a spaced grip on his weapon and shoved his opponent to the amazement of the crowd. Mendo was knocked off his guard as he fell to his knees, and Rokshasa—too hasty for his own good—used his body’s momentum to bring down an overhead attack with one arm that narrowly missed its target as the Meiziki warrior rolled to his side before coming to his feet.
“Nice.” Mendo remarked. “An excellent start.”
Rokshasa brought his weapon up just as Mendo lunged forward but not in time as the Meiziki warrior shallowly pierced his side with a quick thrust and backed away, evading the samurai’s sloppy subsequent attack. Rokshasa grasped the wound cleverly made through his armor with anger before charging in again! This time, Mendo scowled and met the charge, prompting the Nagao samurai to slow his pace as he made a defensive swing to draw his rival away from making his initial attack. Mendo had already anticipated this move, however, and stepped in to deftly avoid the ax’s blade and consequently thrusted the odachi across the top of the warrior’s soldier. The tip of the weapon edged close to his carotid, but Rokshasa growled and pivoted his body. He launched his armored gauntlet into Mendo’s exposed chest.
“Augh!” The Meiziki warrior screamed and coughed blood while attempting to escape Rokshasa as he continued his relentless pursuit.
He trained for this day, knowing his greatest weakness would be his endurance under the weight of his own equipment. But the samurai prevailed in his intent, using everything he had to take the fight to his former mentor.
--
“Tavon! We don’t have time for this—we have to do something now!”
Despite my incredible dislike of Naizo, I found myself close to pleading, “It’s Rok… I should’ve been there with him; he doesn’t have any support.”
“He doesn’t have any support?!” Abul growled. “We have to finish this before you’re drained of your power!”
“Right.” I turned to Naizo.
I’ve chosen not to participate in this contest
The outcome of the duel is all that matters
It was comforting to know I wouldn’t be duking it out with an evil spirit, and so I cautiously rushed toward the Nagao heir.
Naizo, in turn, was confident and grounded himself in a stance prepared to fight me.
“I can take you now!” He cried madly. “I’m just as good as Rokshasa!”
And in an instant, I brought myself to glide before I struck at the Nagao heir with my fist in a wide arc so rapidly that Naizo didn’t have time to block with his forearms! My knuckles collided with the side of his temporal lobe, and Naizo’s body immediately crashed to the ground. He shuddered.
I was so stunned by his weakness that I didn’t react when Naizo fearfully scurried away from the fight and shook as he got to his feet.
“Dejinden!” He screamed. “You told me I’d become stronger! Why do… —w-why is—?”
Without hesitation, I’d appeared before my opponent and uppercutted his sternum with enough force to incapacitate him as the heir fell to his knees while vomiting blood.
“D- …” He coughed. “Dejinden!”
I heard the echoes of a crowd and noticed again the ongoing fight taking place on screen—
--
Rokshasa swung diagonally at his opponent before stepping in to thrust at the exact same moment Mendo performed the same action. He caught the side of Mendo’s odachi and forced away the weapon while sliding the ax up to strike at the warrior’s mid-section.
Mendo closed whatever distance remained between them and rotated to elbow the samurai’s helmet. But Rokshasa persisted in spite of the impact, and he used his armor to slam into his enemy while sending him on his back as Mendo hurried away from his next strike. Rokshasa, having allowed himself to go completely berserk, began chopping wildly at the elusive figure of his opponent. Mendo managed to evade most of his attacks and seemed out of breath.
He was soon compelled to a pause, which resulted in the Meiziki champion being stabbed in the chest from another enraged thrust. Mendo leapt away from the blood-drenched weapon, clutching the wound and expressing a measure of joy. “You’ve developed completely as a warrior, Rok.” He breathed heavily.
“You’ve lost, Mendo…” Rokshasa clenched his weapon. “Surrender.”
--
I hefted Naizo by his collar and struck him with a jab to his head and then followed with a backhanded strike that bloodied his nose before I finished with a strong punch and tossed the Nagao heir across the floor of the control room.
Dejinden appeared indifferent; his expression vacuous as he crossed his arms and patiently observed both fights.
“Rokshasa is proving superior, Tavon!”
“I guess it’s an all-around victory then.” I smiled while glaring at Naizo, who could barely remain conscious after his beatdown.
Something has changed
--
A lower-ranking member of the Nagao interrupted the duel between the two warriors as he stood before the throne and announced, “The fighting must stop at once!” He shouted. “Everyone-EVERYONE, listen to me.”
The assembled gathering grew silent in anticipation.
“Elder Nagao, our venerable Leader, has committed seppuku! The Elder has passed, long live the Elder!”
--
“What?!” Naizo suddenly became more alert. “Father…”
“You didn’t know he planned this?”
Naizo clenched his fists, a tear coursing down his features. “No, you scum—It’s because of you!” He glared at us, succumbing completely to his own disgust for our existence.
--
“E
lder Nagao…” Rokshasa displayed the demeanor of a lost child. “Why would he do this?”
“Enough.” Mendo said firmly while sheathing his weapon. “With your leader dead, this battle is pointless, Rok; it’s time for the Nagao to surrender honorably. The Elder understood that, and now so should you.”
Rokshasa, infuriated, snarled as he shouted: “The Nagao still have an heir, and I will not surrender this clan to you!”
“Cease this, Rok.”
“You wallow in your failures as a warrior, Mendo.” Rokshasa took to a fighting stance. “I’ve surpassed even you, and I will carry the Nagao to victory!”
--
Now is the time to make the decision, Naizo
“My awakening was meant to be grand! –You’ve ruined everything! You killed my father!” Naizo pointed at me.
They don’t see your value
They don’t see your inner worth
Not like I do
“Your father took his own life… I’m presuming he knew this was wrong, Naizo. Surrender.” Abul ordered.
--
Rokshasa sprinted toward his opponent and began hurling his ax through the air as Mendo weaved in and out of his attacks with a speed unmatched by his opponent.
Mendo’s face remained calm as he spoke, “It’s over, Rok… where is your heir now?”
The samurai responded only by continuing his assault, exhaustion never fully reaching him as he became obsessed with his target.
“You’ve proven yourself already—but this is your last warning, Rok! Rok, do you hear me?!”
--
“How is he avoiding him so easily?”
Naizo looked to Dejinden.
“Become one with me,” The Nagao heir said. “We can fuse together to strike down all of our enemies! –I’ll take on the Meiziki myself!”
The head of the demon swirled and became formless as his tone resonated throughout the chamber:
I will not become one with someone so low…
Rather
I wish to consume you
Your soul
Give it to me
Angelos Odyssey Page 63