Bab 116: 112th Adversary: Suspicions & Growth
The northern border of the Dragna Empire. This border faced the ocean and was home to several port towns. These towns were currently deserted, and it was the same for the beaches as well. Only a sole person sat on the beach. With beautiful androgynous looks, caramel skin, purple hair which was braided into one, and a purple star mark under their right eye. They were dressed in a white shirt with purple stars on it, a grey sweat pants and pair of sneakers.
"No one would think you're protecting the border with you dressing so casually."
Behind him, a beautiful woman appeared wearing a stunning white one piece dress and a straw hat. She had emerald hair that sparkled when the sun shone on it. Her face looked like it was sculpted by a master, and her eyes were like a pair of polished jewels.
This was Maria Flameheart, Joesph's eldest daughter and the grand elder of her clan.
"Oh, my wife!"
Nova stood up and shouted.
"Did you come to see your husband during his punishment?"
He tried to hug Maria but she stopped him by the head and held him off.
"For once you're right. Sit."
Nova smiled and sat down on the sand. Maria sat beside him, and didn't seem to care that her dress might get dirty.
"Also, don't call it a punishment. Your mother asked you for help because of your strength. You should feel proud."
"You don't understand, Maria. I've been here for several months now. The sea breeze is making my skin crack from the dryness."
"What are you, a maiden?"
Maria lay down on the sand and looked up at the sky.
"Has your father been keeping you up to date with the matters surrounding New Era?"
"Every now and again."
"You sound indifferent. I thought you would be itching to fight them."
"I was at first but those bastards are taking too long to make their move. Instead, I'm here getting rid of idiots trying to sneak into the empire."
"Are your opponents not satisfying enough?"
"Not even close."
Nova grumbled.
"When I heard that countless proxies would come for Miko, I thought I would meet characters like Nine Hells Dante, Thunder Emperor Skylar, Demon Sovereign Zara, even Beast Slayer Hak would do. But I've only fought small fries."
"That's to be expected. All the characters you named are among the world's strongest proxies. A lot of them have nations to manage and protect too. They won't just abandon everything for the selfish request of the High Beings."
"Then at least send your most powerful subordinates, you son of a bitches!"
Nova shouted.
"The Seven Swords of Lucifer, The Black Scriptures of Beelzebub, The Valkyries Of Valhalla, anyone of those would do!"
"Do you hear yourself? If any of those groups had come here you alone couldn't stop them. You would literally be battling the top fighters of a world power."
Maria sighed and sat up. She wrapped her arm around Nova's neck.
"Stop being so impatient. The three clans are putting something in motion, which will make everyone have second thoughts about coming here to attack Miko."
"Oh? What's that?"
Maria smiled.
"They decided to send out Krox and have him put on a little demonstration."
Meanwhile inside the world that Aeon had created. The trio of Ace, Sora, and Hina were all undergoing incredible growth while training under a 19 year old Aeon.
The timeline which Sora was trapped in.
*Bam!*
Aeon was facing Sora in the canyon in a high speed clash, but it was different than when they clashed for the first time.
"Black Beat!"
Black waves fired from Sora's palm. They charged at Aeon's back.
"Ugh?!"
Aeon was hit square in the back and forced to the ground. He struggled to get up but the black waves held him down. The ground underneath him to burst open.
"Not bad."
Aeon's body started illuminating and he became lighter. Sora wasn't surprised to see this. He had already prepared his follow up. His body was covered by darkness and an eerie medley started coming from his body.
"Black Medley!"
Powerful compressed shockwaves fired at Aeon, one after the other. Aeon smiled and lifted his hand over head. Aeon's hand blocked the waves. Each wave he blocked forced his feet deeper into the earth. By the time he blocked the fifth wave, his knees were already underground.
"Heh."
He lifted his other hand and was able to block it more easily, however he was still being forced underground. After around 30 seconds the shockwaves stopped and Aeon survived with arms covered in bruises and looking worn out.
He smiled and remembered what happened with him and the trio sometime back. With Hina's help, he was able to convince all three of them to train under him. Why did Hina help him? Pity. After Aeon explained how he saw things to her she began to see him not as the infamous Gremlin she knew, but as someone her age that was simply socially awkward.
Maybe it was because she had studied all kinds of personalities and observed all kinds of people when designing characters for her story, but Hina was pretty open-minded. As such she tried to understand the person who brought her here. It's because her personality was like this why she became interested in Miko when most shunned him. Just like Miko, she liked the abnormal.
She convinced Ace and Sora to take Aeon's lessons by meeting with them face to face and discussing it with them. When they agreed, Aeon once again separated them in different timelines.
"Yo, you okay?"
Sora approached Aeon, whose arms were disfigured.
"I'll be fine. My body will reset after a while and all of my injuries will be gone."
Aeon sat down on the ground and looked up at Sora.
"So, how is it? Your new fighting style."
Sora looked at his hands and clenched them.
"My range have improved significantly along with my power. I gotta admit, you were spot on with your advice."
Once Sora had agreed to let Aeon teach him, the first thing Aeon did was beat him at his full strength. Sora then had to listen to Aeon's lecture while withering in pain.
"Your sound magic is incredible. Combined with your sharp battle senses, you're a pretty powerful fighter that can give Miko and Luka trouble."
Aeon stooped down and looked at him.
"However, it isn't enough. The current you might defeat the current Miko, but that won't be possible for much longer. Miko is continually evolving. He's rapidly growing stronger. So much that if you beat him today it won't be strange to lose to him tomorrow."
Aeon looked into Sora's eyes and smiled.
"It's scary isn't it? You being a full fledge human trying to keep up with a being of that level is insane, right?"
Sora didn't reply.
"But you'll do it anyway, am I right?"
This time Sora slowly nodded.
"Well, it's impossible with the way you are now."
Aeon stood back up.
"Your sound magic and the way you use it is incredible, but they lack innovation."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean once someone adapts to your speed, it's over. For example, just now I beat you without moving from this spot. Why did that happen? It's because once I got used to the surprise of your speed and awe of your rare power, all I needed to do was to prepare a few traps and wait for you to walk in them yourself."
Aeon had beaten Sora in a split second when Sora approached him to attack. Even now, Sora couldn't figure out what Aeon did.
"While impressive, your fighting style consists of repetitive attacks. It's basically increase your speed, surprise your opponent, attack, retreat, then repeat. A true veteran wouldn't lose to such a fighting style unless you were strong enough to take them out in a short span of time. But what if you can't?"
"...."
Sora was once again silent.
"You know this, but the longer you fight the more risk you face and the chances of you losing increases. Hence your fighting style is weak against people stronger or on the same level as you."
Aeon stopped talking for a bit as if he was allowing Sora time to absorb what he was telling him.
"Well, it's not your fault. The fault lies in the one who taught you how to fight. It's pretty obvious they didn't finish what they started. They intended for Sound Magic to be a part of your arsenal, not your entire arsenal."
"The person who taught me was an old man called Klick. He's dead. He died at the hands of Nebulous."
"You believe that?"
Aeon looked at Sora and asked.
"Of course. We heard about it from Nebulous himself."
"And the body?"
"The body?"
Sora became quiet for a while. And then-
"So you want me to be more creative and add more layers to my fighting style?"
"...…That's right."
He changed the topic. However, the way he did it didn't fit Sora's personality. His tone also seemed too calm, especially since he's denying the fact that Klick's death is suspicious. While thinking this Aeon gave Sora what he needed to reach the next level.
Present time. Sora was practicing thrusting a spear while being covered in darkness. These were the two things Aeon taught him, Spearmanship and dark magic. He told Sora to mix them with his sound magic and create a new fighting style. Sora went beyond that and created three additional fighting styles.
The first was a combination of sound and dark magic, Black Sound Arts. By infusing the weighty dark magic into his sound magic Sora was able to create heavier and more powerful sound attacks, like the one he used against Aeon. The only down side was that the attacks were now visible and easier to detect, but the range was off the charts.
The second style was the Rapturing Spear. Sora infused his sound magic into a spear and use it to attack. This wasn't Sora's original. Aeon remembered hearing Nova talk about a certain warrior he faced in his youth. This person was a spearman who fused sound with his attacks. Every spear thrust he took caused waves to burst through the earth and the air. Just being scraped by his spear was fatal. He used the power of vibration in every strike. When the spear cuts you, sound waves would silently enter your body and attack your organs directly. It was even worse when the spear pierced you. Sound waves would spread out like tidal waves and cause every organ in your body to burst. There were even cases when the entire body would burst like a balloon. To Nova, this sound specialist was a terrifying memory. He could sneak up on you, poke you with his spear, and you would pop like a bubble. But what was the most terrifying was that person was a peerless spear user who almost never missed. He even had ways to kill you without his spear even coming near you.
Nova wanted to see if he could recreate such a person by using Sora, but never got the chance, so Aeon was trying it in his stead.
The third style was a combination of dark magic and spearmanship. However, since Sora had yet to master dark magic or using a spear these three fighting styles were unstable. But they were still impressive.
"There's another thing I want you to try. If you succeed your future is boundless. However, it will take years to succeed."
"I'm ready."
Aeon smiled and nodded.
In Ace's timeline, Aeon wasn't fighting Ace. Instead, he was watching him meditating while being surrounded by various wild life. Ace body was also giving off a strange green glow. This was Beastly Vita. Aeon had advised Ace to learn Vita as soon as possible. This was what he said.
"Because of [Boost Player] you can't use any of your abilities that easily. If you're caught off guard, it's over for you. That's why you need to master Vita. If you have Vita, you'll be able to fend off a sneak attack with your physical strength, even if you're not prepared. If the physical strength of your base form increases, so will the strength of the characters set in Boost Player. For example [Magician] have zero physical strength and low durability. But that isn't the case if you learn Vita because that weakness will no longer exist."
After hearing such a solid argument, Ace had no choice but to accept what Aeon said and started learning Vita. Since he wasn't like Miko, who learnt everything in an unorthodox way, Ace was taught the basics of Vita the same way most was. The first phase was discovering what kind of soul you possess. This was done by self-reflection and deep meditation.
Aeon was surprise to find out Ace had a Beastly Soul. This meant that the Ace, which many knew as a joker and a carefree person, actually had a beast within him.
(I guess his joker persona was a façade. I wonder what he's really like?)
That's when their conversation a while back resurfaced in his mind.
"Amnesia?"
"Yeah. I don't have memories from when I was 10 or younger. My earliest memory is being found by Grandpa Klick and Sora in a ditch in some country that I forgot the name of."
Ace said. Aeon nodded and then asked Ace a question as he pointed at the mark on Ace's chest. It was a mark of a star with the letter G in it. Aeon knew this mark, in fact Ace should know it better than him since he was a professional gamer.
It was the mark of the famous gaming company Gamestar, which changed the way of gaming forever. It also invented the game Miko met Ace in. However….
"What mark?"
Ace was unable to see the mark. To test it out, Aeon drew the mark on the ground and asked Ace if he recognized it. Ace said he couldn't which was impossible. And then-
"Like I said, I met Sora and Klick and we hit off and started traveling together until we arrived here."
He changed the topic in a forceful manner just like Sora did.
"….Miko had asked me to look into Klick's death, but I couldn't find anything. I couldn't even find a trace of a person by that name."
Aeon mumbled. Soon after Ace opened his eyes.
"Good. Looks like you're ready. Today we'll focus on trying to unlock as much characters in your Boost Player as possible along with their Finishing Attacks."
Hina's timeline.
In this timeline Aeon was battling Hina and was having a lot of difficulties.
"Roar!"
He was fending off a horde of never before seen monsters. He leaped back and kicked away the monsters closest to him while being vigilant of those approaching him.
"?!"
That's when a chill ran up his spine and he dive to the side.
*Bam!*
A streak of flames cut down where he was standing and destroyed a piece of the canyon. Aeon looked and saw Hina holding a giant demonic-looking blade. She had dark skin and white hair and looked like a demon. The monsters started gathering around her as if worshipping her. This just made her look even more terrifying.
"Damn, she's really giving her all to kill me. Without a doubt, she's the one who grew the most."
Back when Hina just started training under Aeon.
"Of the three of you, I believe that you possess the most potential."
He said to her.
"However, you're also the most wasteful of the three."
This caused Hina to frown.
"Sora only has his sound magic but he made the best of it and became strong. Ace has his Boost Player and is trying to master its abilities, but you're letting your talent rot. You only use your abilities in the most basic ways and think that's the best you can do. Isn't that just stupidity?"
"...…"
"White Haired Devil."
"?!"
Hina's body flinched and she stared at Aeon with quivering eyes.
"I already knew you were the one who caused Mainz's destruction. I've known since it just happened. The present me was going to even eliminate you, since you were considered a threat to the empire. That's my role as the leader of Mamushi that protects the empire after all."
Hina listened to him without moving a muscle.
"What changed my mind was that you were under Krow's radar. I decide to watch and see how things played out."
Aeon paused for a bit and continued.
"I understand you have negative feelings towards your own powers and even your existence, because it was what ultimately led to the destruction of your life. However, if you want to stay by Miko's side that power is necessary."
"I already know that…."
Hina gritted her teeth.
"I know that but my body just won't listen to me. Every time I try to do anything too grand with my powers, I start throwing up and black out. Transforming with Genome Shift and creating and manifesting things are my limit."
"Get rid of that limit."
Aeon said sternly.
"Restricted individuals don't belong by Miko's side. Only those who chose the path of freedom are welcomed."
He pointed at Hina.
"I promise you this. If you don't overcome your limits here and now I'll never allow you to reunite with Miko again."
"Wha?! You can't do that?!"
"I can. I was chosen to train and assess you all. If I deem you as unfit then the Three Clans will try everything to remove you from Miko's side, so you down weigh him down."
"Miko won't allow that!"
"True, but did you forget who the present me is? The Gremlin! There's nothing he can't twist his way."
"You…!"
Hina's eyes started giving off an intense golden glow.
"Just try to get in the way of me and Miko."
She instantly transformed and dozens of monsters started appearing out of nowhere.
"I'll make it so that you never existed!"
Current time.
*Bam!*
Hina didn't let up and was dead set on killing Aeon.
"Damn it! Her creations just keep increasing and they're all stronger than the last!"
He dodged the bite of a demon wolf and beheaded an insect monster before being ambushed by some rotting bird monsters.
"I knew she loved Miko, but not to the extent that she'll immediately remove her limits to kill me if I threatened her love."
Aeon was only trying to motivate Hina to get stronger but he underestimated her greatly.
Creation, the ability to create anything you want. You can only create something if you know what it looks like, what it's made of, and how it's made.
Manifestation is like 3D projection that you can touch. Meaning, that you take a 2D image and recreate it into reality. It doesn't need to be a picture. It can be a drawing, a painting, or even words in a book. For the book one, you just need to have an idea of how it looks in real life.
Genome Shift, the ability to rewrite your DNA as you please. That means that you can change your race or even species if you want. You can even mix them and become something unique.
Finally, Fantasy Maker. Something like a fusion of creation and manifestation. It has the ability to manifest and create almost anything, even life forms.
These were the four abilities Hina was born with. Because of many reasons, she never used them to their full potential but it was different now. She had gotten rid of all the brakes and was out of control.
"Fantasy Maker."
She swung her hand to the side and another sword appeared in her hand. This was an enchanted weapon that had many abilities. Hina had just made it.
She stabbed the ground and Aeon saw hundreds of swords burst out of the earth and surrounded him.
"She can do this too?!"
"Everyone, grabbed a weapon."
She commanded the monsters shehad brought to life. They followed her will and glared at Aeon with hatred.
"I take it back. You're such a monster that only Miko can probably keep you under control."
Aeon said while taking a fighting stance.
"Anyone that threatens my happiness with Miko will die."
Hina emotionlessly lifted her sword and it transformed into a horrifying zombie dragon.
"…And you're a little crazy too."
"Die!"
Everything rushed at Aeon all at once. Aeon steeled himself and entered a war with Hina.
At the same time in the real world.
"…..What happened all of a sudden?"
Miko asked after seeing Hina hell bent on killing the Aeon she was facing.
"19-year-old me underestimated the human heart….I guess."
The real Aeon answered.
"Anyway, I found out what you wanted to know."
He looked at Miko.
"I believe the trio have been brainwashed. Whenever it comes to their origins or savior they start acting out of character, before becoming oblivious of the conversation we were having. It's safe to say that even if we bring up these stuff they'll simply forget immediately."
Miko nodded.
"As I thought, this Klick guy is alive."
Miko had Darius memories which meant he knew whether Darius killed the trio's savior or not. The answer was no. Darius had met him when his mind wasn't stable but that's it. Layla also said she only followed Krow's orders to tell the trio that nebulous killed their master.
"Krow is definitely involved in this."
"What do you want to do?"
"Let's observe them for now. They're clearly victims in this whole thing. I'll also ask Alec and Kirika for help getting rid of the brainwashing."
Miko became quiet for a while.
"Klick huh? I don't what you're planning but if you try to hurt my comrades, I'll stomp you and Krow into an oblivion."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone