The Village Disciples

He had done it. Kaminari Nozomu had successfully channeled enough strength to knock Reiwa Takuetsu back substantially. Seijun Hotaru, his brown eyes fixed on his childhood friend, saw the performance. Nozomu and his Tansu Beast deepened their link to unprecedented heights with each passing second. The partnership had surely given the white-haired vessel incredible talents, which were beginning to impact Lucifer himself.

Unfortunately for Seijun, Moeru was not as willing to be a good teammate. The fiery dragon despised his container, along with every human in existence. Even in the face of death, Moeru preferred the notion of crumbling in the hands of Reiwa Takuetsu rather than relinquishing his spiteful outlook on Seijun. Hate was an immeasurable quantity with the fiery beast. 

'Kami…' Seijun thought to himself, his eyes becoming glassy. '...You always knew what to do.'

Nozomu could not force Seijun to become stronger, meaning that the wielder of lightning could only watch as the other drifted away without a hint of resilience. It was devastating. This particular moment revived a deep-rooted memory within Nozomu's brain, forcing the past to become the present. The arrow that pierced Seijun's skull, the fire that transported every one of the vessels elsewhere in the nation, the realization that everything could be taken away without warning. 

But now, they were adults. They were in control.

Gradually, Nozomu extended his left arm toward Seijun, his hand open and inviting. If there was any time to reunite with his childhood friend, who was once viewed as a brother, then now was the time. Two children against the indifference of the world turned into two pure hearts against the fury of Lucifer. 

Seijun recognized the look in Nozomu's eyes. Almost four decades since he had last seen the white-haired man stare at him in such a way. A gaze that yielded brotherly support. 

Moeru had to go.

XXX

Everything was black, devoid of light or sound. However, the temperature was immensely high, proving to be an uninhabitable environment for any typical organism. Seijun stood in the middle of it all, his fists clenched as his brown eyes glinted with resolve. It was the shared space within his soul that harbored the Tansu Beast Moeru. Any time that Seijun willed himself into the abyss of his mind, Moeru immediately took control of the man's body—the trade had been stamped into life since Seijun was twelve years old. 

"Moeru! Come out!" Seijun hollered, clenching his teeth. 

To confront his longtime torturer would be considered suicide if Seijun had done it only a few hours earlier. The dragon's overwhelming might was enough to overwhelm Seijun both psychologically and physically. However, such a thing could no longer be enabled. Reiwa was his and Nozomu's adversary, and death was inescapable if Seijun could not control the beast within his soul.

A deep growl shook the void, indicating a beastly presence. 

"You aren't in control anymore!" The man declared with a belligerent shout, his eyes scrambling for the smallest amount of flame. 

*FWOOSH!*

In an instant, Moeru's head sprung into view, dwarfing Seijun's body greatly. The dragon made of fire glowered at the human with disdain, his beastly nostrils emitting smoke. The desire to simply eat the man swelled within Moeru, knowing that it would rightfully grant the dragon control over Seijun's physical form once again. 

"I allowed you to strike Reiwa down and you failed miserably… Even Kanden's fleshy container managed to land a good hit on the oaf." Moeru spoke indignantly, bearing his teeth.

Seijun huffed, his heart thumping erratically. "That's because Kanden is better than you! We don't hold a candle to Nozomu and Kanden!"

The flaming dragon snarled, forcing the flames that created the beast's head to flare dangerously. The human man dared to openly disrespect Moeru, especially in his most defenseless state. The container was always an idiot, but his impulsive announcement just confirmed that he was nothing but useless ideas and space. 

"No, you are the one who cannot match their power. You utilize my existence in every worst way possible. Reiwa is but a man that you cannot seem to conquer, even with my astounding gifts." Moeru refuted, his flaming head tilting downward. 

Seijun faced the Tansu Beast's words with a heated glare, every muscle in his body tensing. Swiftly, the vessel clamped his hand down on his neck, holding the seal embedded into his skin. Moeru would not be moved with words—he was a beast that only settled his problems with indiscriminate violence and bloodshed. 

"You will give me total dominion over your power and I will prove to you that your ways are wrong!" Seijun demanded, feeling the seal imprinted on his neck burn his flesh. 

Moeru's eyes swirled with animosity, flames threatening to burn the man to ash. Seijun was forcing a contract between him and the fiery dragon through the use of the seal. Moeru immediately rejected the notion, opening his jaws menacingly. 

"You brat! I will escape my confines and feast on that pestilent Kaminari!" Moeru roared, the rest of his animalistic body forming through multiple cyclones of fire. 

Seijun thought of all of the people he had murdered throughout his lifetime, his mind drawing back to the moment he incinerated the kidnapped children in the small town where he was enslaved. The screams, the corpses, the loneliness—it stockpiled into an unrelenting desire to usurp Moeru's control over his body. 

"A monster has no place in the light of divinity!" The man hollered, his fingernails tearing into his skin as he felt the seal grow hotter. 

Moeru lunged forward, his massive mouth open as he attempted to swallow Seijun whole. 

"Yield to the human soul and concede to me, Moeru!"

Everything went dark one more time.

XXX

Nozomu witnessed Seijun's eyes close, sensing that his body's temperature plummeted horrifically. With his arm still stretched outward, the white-haired vessel bit the inside of his cheek as he slowly retracted his hand back to his side, understanding that Seijun would be incapable of reaching out and grabbing onto it. 

Suddenly, Nozomu felt the urge to lean backward, which allowed him to narrowly dodge the green and gold staff from earlier. Looking in the direction the staff came from, the man could see Reiwa flapping his twelve green wings, closing the distance between them. 

'Seijun will be the last that you kill!' 

Nozomu used his dragon-like wings to charge at Reiwa, leaving a trail of lightning behind him as he flew toward Lucifer. In under a single millisecond, the white-haired vessel and crimson-haired tyrant clashed, their fists ramming into each other. Nozomu grunted as he was subjected to feeling Reiwa's immense physical strength once more. Currently, Reiwa was stronger, but Nozomu's speed permitted the vessel to keep up with him. 

Reiwa was pleasantly surprised with Nozomu's newfound speed, letting a small grin form as the lightning wielder dashed all around him, unleashing a combination of solid punches and kicks that impressively landed against the ostensibly indestructible armor that Lucifer wore. Every punch and kick that connected with Reiwa caused the armor on his body to be dented and scratched.

'Finally!' Reiwa wanted to shout, his blood pumping with enthusiasm. 

The hulking tyrant slammed his forearm into Nozomu's waist, momentarily halting the vessel's incessant assault. 

'Let's up the ante, Container!'

Reiwa reeled his right arm back, the limb brimming with potent magic. Nozomu acknowledged the act, forcing him to angle his body appropriately and reel his arm back as well. Nozomu needed to condition his body to Lucifer's strength, even if it meant taking the brunt of his opponent's attacks. 

*SHATTER!*

The moment their two fists collided, the fabric of the universe they resided in was crushed, displacing the two warriors throughout the multiverse. Oddly enough, this universe had audible noise ringing through their ears, contrasting the other two universe's laws. The first sound that Nozomu heard was his lightning, leading to a faint sensation of wonder brewing within his body due to how much heavier each bolt of lightning sounded compared to the last time he heard it. It was more than apparent that Nozomu became more powerful. 

"You're starting to impress me, Container!" Reiwa hollered, his Aura Amalgamation fluctuating. 

Nozomu refused to respond, gritting his teeth before soaring toward the tyrant for the umpteenth time. Unfortunately, Reiwa was able to clutch onto Nozomu's arm, restraining the vessel. A green hue covered Reiwa's right arm, followed by a green spike that formed around his limb. Nozomu was helpless as Lucifer impaled him in the stomach with the newly-formed aura print, blood spilling from the open wound and trickling from his mouth.

"Kanden!" Nozomu called out, scrunching his face. 

Reiwa was caught off-guard as the lightning dragon appeared below his feet and bit down as hard as he could, latching onto the tyrant. In his smaller form, Kanden pulled Reiwa through space, becoming separated from the white-haired vessel.

Taking advantage of the distance between him and Reiwa, Nozomu forced his lightning to arc around his body at a faster rate, his Aura Sense pulsing dramatically. Currently, he was still incapable of harming Reiwa, but he was finally capable of touching him—all Nozomu had to do was charge himself up enough, and he knew the perfect way to. 

'I have to go… much faster.'

With the hole in his stomach healing rapidly, the vessel's gaze locked onto Reiwa, who finished tearing Kanden's physical form apart with his bare hands. Nozomu's wings fluttered at a hastened pace, becoming imperceivable to even Reiwa, who blinks in amusement. The tyrant realized that he would need to apply more of his Aura Amalgamation to fight Nozomu. 

*ZRMMM!*

In a flash, Nozomu launched his body forward, immediately crashing into Reiwa and pushing the tyrant throughout the universe at speeds a million times faster than light. Reiwa's arms and legs flailed as he found himself crashing through meteors, moons, planets, and stars. Nozomu applied pressure to Reiwa's chest plate as he flew from galaxy to galaxy, discharging waves of magic that caused the galaxies to dissipate as collateral. 

The lightning wielder proceeded to fly even faster, glaring at the tyrant in his grasp as he pushed him throughout the entire infinite universe. Eventually, there was not a single cubic inch of space in the universe that Nozomu did not take up, his miraculous speeds allowing him to be everywhere at once.

*SHATTER!*

Unsurprisingly, Nozomu used Reiwa's body to crash into a new universe, then another, and another—the number of universes Nozomu used to overwhelm Lucifer grew limitless as he flew unrestrained throughout the multiverse. Reiwa's armor ultimately split, slipping off of his huge frame and burning owing to the incredible speed.

To stop Nozomu in his tracks, Reiwa grasped the vessel's face, twisting his body and driving him into a red magical barrier—*KABOOM!*—and the power of Nozomu's halt encompassed the entire universe in a cosmic explosion, reducing everything to ashes.

Fortunately, the universe they currently remained in permitted sounds to travel throughout space. 

"You truly are strong! I had to amp my own body more than ever to keep up with you!" Reiwa congratulated the vessel, gripping the man's neck tightly. 

Nozomu coughed, gripping Reiwa's forearm. The tyrant did not even have so much as a bruise on his skin, despite Nozomu fueling his body with all of the magic he could muster. 

"From my experience, there is not a single thing within the infinite number of universes that can remotely harm me. However, you are the first to break my armor." Reiwa spoke further, not letting go of the vessel. 

The white-haired man tightened his grip on Reiwa's forearm, his blue eyes narrowing. "It's… not just me."

Reiwa blinked, only to then feel an oppressive wave of magic clash with his senses. The crimson-haired tyrant shifted his body to glimpse at what was behind him, spotting a fist covered in flames slamming into his nose.

*FRSHHH!*

The tyrant's body was knocked deeper into space, his grip around Nozomu's neck letting up. 

"I'm sorry that I'm late, Kami. My roommate and I had a small discussion." 

Nozomu's eyes darted to the source of the voice, coming face-to-face with no one other than Seijun Hotaru. The brown-eyed man had similar markings to Nozomu—black lines traveling up and down his skin, pulsing with a red and orange hue. 

"Believe it or not, it took a while for me to find you guys. But, either you or Reiwa left behind a trail of holes in several universes, so I kind of just followed them." Seijun chuckled, inhaling. 

Truthfully, Seijun has never felt better. So much power flowed through him—his magic was no longer plagued by a malevolent beast trying to commandeer his body. It was like being able to drink water for the first time. His wings maintained their black feathers but appeared to be more lush and healthy. 

Seijun tilted his head as he stared at Nozomu, confusion swirling within his mind.

"Kami? You good?" 

Nozomu gazed at Seijun with horribly veiled shock, his mouth agape. 

"...You always talked too much, Seijun."

XXX

That's it for this chapter! Yet again, I'm completely loving this fight! Reiwa is still as impenetrable as ever, but both Nozomu and Seijun have grown in power! How will this fight end? Stay tuned for more!

Have a Great Day!

Peace - Cr1ticalz_