Seven Heroes Redux

— It's none of your business.

— It's my business, yes!

— Get out of the way, now.

— Never!

The swordswoman swung her broadsword with her left hand, cutting his forehead and leaving a scar, which he still had until now. He decided to keep it, to show that he had gotten stronger over time.

The Boss arrived with his heroes and defeated the invaders. Tetsu knew he had something to do with it. His grudge forced him to become a hero to destroy the association from within.

Exwind and Ria arrived near Pareto by plane. Then, Ria used her power to shoot them towards the city. As they approached Pareto, they soon noticed floating islands in the sky. The surface was at ocean level, so they had been ripped out of the ground. Ria commented:

— Catherine was right, it's easy to spot from afar.

— You remembered her name... it seems like you respect her.

— She cooperated, that's all.

— I think it's good, really. You're finally opening your heart and being more tolerant.

He smiled at her. She looked away, trying to mask her slight embarassment.

They arrived at a lesser floating island. There was a small soccer field and many houses, as well as people. Some were sitting, others wandering aimlessly. But one thing was clear: they had all been brainwashed. Exwind frowned in disgust.

— Ria, I know I don't usually kill, but...

— Let yourself go. Once we kill him, this will all be over.

— Kiseki will come home with us, but what about these people? We need to rescue them somehow.

— We'll waste a lot of time.

— I'll put all the islands down. Can you look for Kiseki?

— Alright, be careful.

— You too.

Ria shot herself towards the castle on the central island, which was much larger than the others. A few minutes after beginning her search, Ria heard a strange sound. She approached a door that led to a bathroom. She heard screams:

— WHY DOESN'T THIS RITUAL WORK? GOD, HAVE YOU ABADONED ME? PLEASE, I BEG YOU, GRACE ME WITH YOUR POWER!

Ria didn't understand a word of what she had just heard. The person on the other end of the line was speaking another language. A short while later, the bathroom door opened, and Ria decided to discreetly follow the person to find out who it was.

It was the Pope. He was a middle-aged man wearing a white veil and a gold headband. He was hunchbacked and very thin.

Suddenly, he received a call. He was startled by the sound of the phone, but quickly answered:

— WHAT DO YOU WANT?

— "What do you want"...?

— I-I'M SORRY, ZENITH-SAMA, I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS TALKING TO YOUR MAJESTY.

— You said the ritual would be ready hours ago, and still nothing.

— OH, IT'S JUST…

As the Pope was nervous while talking to the heroine, he couldn't keep his posture and instinctively looked around. To his surprise, he finally saw who was behind him. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, until the Pope dropped his cell phone on the ground. Zenith shouted:

— "It's just" WHAT, ASSHOLE?! You're not going to tell me to wait another day. You promised me that I would become a goddess, so KEEP your FUCKING WORD! HEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? HELLO?!

She was screaming at the top of her lungs, exploding with rage. Ria said to the Pope:

— Later, you will explain to me what your relationship with Zenith is. But first, you will tell me where Kiseki is.

— WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING JAPANESE?

Noticing the language barrier, Ria was disappointed. She scratched her forehead, thinking of a solution.

— Can you at least speak English?

— ENGLISH? OF COURSE I KNOW, MORE OR LESS.

— Surrender immediately or you will die.

— NEVER! MY FAITHFUL GUARDS, PROTECT ME IMMEDIATELY!

Realizing that reinforcements would arrive, Ria aimed both revolvers, expecting someone strong. Two guard dogs came running and jumped at her, bouncing off her barrier. She looked at them, disappointed. They managed to enter the barrier slowly and bite her, but they were harmless to her.

When she turned her attention back to the Pope, he was no longer there. The dogs had stopped biting her and gone away. They barked at one of the many doors in the long hallway. She approached the door and petted the dogs, thanking them. She broke the doorknob and went inside. The Pope was crouched behind a desk, terrified and crying.

— I D-DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING!

— What is your relationship with Zenith?

The Pope hesitated for a few more seconds, but soon gave in:

— SHE… WANTS TO BECOME A GODDESS.

— Keep going.

— I OFFERED MY HELP TO MAKE HER DREAM COME TRUE, BUT IT SEEMS TO NOT HAVE WORKED.

— Why not?

— I READ IN THE BIBLE A RITUAL THAT ALLOWS SOMEONE TO BECOME OMNIPOTENT BY SACRIFICING THE SOUL OF THE PUREST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

— How did you bring Kiseki here?

— I ASKED ZENITH.

— And she agreed?

— YES, OUR INTERESTS WERE ALIGNED.

— I don't think a ritual like that would be in the Bible. Where did you get that copy?

— AT A STREET MARKET.

— Seriously…?

He can't be serious... but he doesn't seem to be lying.

— What did you do to the people here?

— MY POWER ALLOWS ME TO CONTROL PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THE SAME RELIGION AS ME.

— And the floating islands?

— ANOTHER RITUAL FROM THE BIBLE.

— That same Bible?

— YES.

— These rituals you mention, what are they?

— IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN... IT'S RELATED TO THE OCCULTISM.

Occultism?

— So they're not powers...

Ria walked away and stopped at the door.

— Take me to Kiseki.

They went to a huge cathedral inside the castle. Kiseki was sitting unconscious on a throne on the stage. The room was dark, but sunlight shone through the tall windows, casting a shadow on Kiseki's body. Ria ran over to her. The Pope took a pistol from his inner pocket and aimed it at Ria's head.

THE RITUAL CAN'T STOP! ZENITH WILL KILL ME IF I DON'T SOLVE THIS NOW!

His hand was shaking, but he finally mustered the courage to shoot. The bullet ricocheted off Ria's barrier and went straight into his head, killing him. She looked back, surprised by his stupidity.

What the fuck? I guess the ritual's over now. Wait, does that mean...

The ground began to shake. The islands were now slowly sinking.

Exwind tried to push the islands down with his power, which wasn't difficult. However, they kept resurfacing, because of the strength of the ritual.

I would have to keep pushing the islands down once they're on the surface... not very convenient.

He decided to evacuate the civilians the traditional way. He picked up dozens with his power and went to the surface, then came back.

Suddenly, he was punched in the face, flying more than a kilometer away. He stopped in the sky, confused. He suffered severe brain damage, but was slowly recovering. He approached the island he was on. Zenith was standing on the edge, smirking arrogantly.

Zenith? What the hell is she doing here?

— Come, get down here.

She's waiting for me... at least she can't fly.

— You survived my punch, big guy. I'm impressed, to be honest.

— Why are you here?

— You know why I'm here. You thought you could beat me, huh?

— No, I thought you were in Tokyo.

— Wait, really? So why the hell are you here?

— Sorry, can't say.

— Tell me, insect, why are you here?

Zenith was now serious. She continued:

— Have you come to steal my artifact?

— Artifact? No, I don't even know-

She jumped off the island and reached him in the blink of an eye.

Wait, what? She can't fly, why is she jumping?

She touched a card to his body and then kicked him in the face, sending him down. His body hit the river, sending millions of liters of water into the sky, causing it to rain and even reaching the islands.

She was now floating in the sky, looking at all the destruction she had effortlessly caused. She pointed her finger at where Exwind had fallen, smiling demonically. A ray of wind shot out from her index finger, destroying everything in its path and exploding afterwards. A huge crater was left, about 10 kilometers wide.

She then threw some of the islands in random directions, destroying other cities and the landscape.

— I like this power... it was meant for me.

Exwind flew right behind her and punched her in the back. She was sent flying for at least two kilometers, but so was he. In fact, he was pushed so far that he could no longer see the islands. His back was so badly damaged that his vertebrae were broken. Zenith, on the other hand, was almost unharmed.

After less than a minute, he managed to reach the islands again. They were in the sky, facing each other.

She copied my power...

He sent out several wind shots, trying to hit Zenith.