章 9: Reality Check
The tremors in the ground started off light. With every step, it grew more and more violent. It wasn't long until a sheer step could topple buildings. Almost like a category 8 earthquake. Something was happening on the beachfront.
Shin immediately sped through the city rooftops, Nahobino form already activated. He was unseen by anyone due to his erased presence. The young man hadn't reached the location yet but he could already see it.
A massive kaiju had emerged from the ocean. It seemed to be reptilian in nature, scales covering its entire body and razor sharp teeth. Almost resembling a type of aquatic humanoid dragon. It was gargantuan in scale, countless armored tails moving like worms. Even those were larger and thicker than the nearby buildings.
Every step of this creature brought it further out of the water. Every step revealed even more size, its body eclipsing the whole city. There was no telling what the consequences would be if it reached its way past the beachfront.
Luckily, it already seemed to be in a little skirmish. Small explosions could already be heard. There were constant roars coming from the kaiju. A man flew around in a suit of metal, doing his best to keep the titan occupied.
"Jarvis! Have you found its weak point yet?!"
"Apologies, sir. I need more time and observation. A full body scan would be much appreciated."
"Always asking for the impossible, buddy."
"I'm sure a lap around this creature is within your capabilities."
Iron Man barrel rolled away from an oncoming tail swipe, shooting repulsor blasts and scatter missiles all the while. A blanket of explosions covered the kaiju. It barely dealt damage, only serving to enrage the beast further.
It roared loudly, the sheer pressure of its voice causing windows to shatter and sand to blow away. A light green energy appeared in its mouth, before a beam of epic proportions shot into the sky. It trailed after Tony.
Iron Man could only sigh in relief that the beam wasn't directed toward the city. That single attack had the potential to annihilate it. As he avoided the beam, he circled the kaiju.
"We can't let him shoot another one of those. Jarvis, the weak point!"
"Compiling data. Calculating. It's possible that there are no outer weak points. I recommend you attack him from the inside, sir." The AI concluded.
"Its mouth then. Put 40% of our energy into the chest repulsor." Tony ordered.
"But sir, that would leave us at 20% from our original 60."
"Just do it, Jarvis."
"As you wish sir. Charging the repulsor."
Tony flew in front of the kaiju's mouth, preparing to unleash a powerful blast in its mouth. It was because of this that he failed to notice another tail swiping at him from behind. A loud smack could be heard as the metal suit was swatted into the sand. His consciousness went dark.
"Critical damage. Thrusters at 10%. Activating Autopilot. I will take control." Jarvis said. The suit's eyes lit up with energy again.
As it flew to the sky once more, the AI prepared to unleash the stored energy again. Its movements were less human…incredibly smooth. Multiple swipes were avoided. Unfortunately, dodging attacks did nothing to stop the kaiju's advance.
It opened its mouth once more, the energy charging in its gaping maw. This would be the end of Ibaraki. No coming back this time. Jarvis stopped directly in front of its mouth for the second time.
"Target locked. Releasing."
A white repulsor beam of incredible magnitude shot into the titan's mouth. The green energy imploded on itself, adding to the damage already created by Iron Man's chest repulsor. A burnt smell along with smoke wafted out its maw.
"Jarvis…report." Tony had woken up.
"Sir…estimated damage from chest repulsor is 30%. Not enough to fell the beast. Running low on energy as well, sir."
"Give me control." He said.
"Deactivating autopilot. Good luck, sir."
The aquatic titan shook off the pain, more rage evident in its eyes. It didn't even roar. A wall of building sized tails rose from water, covering the sky like a blanket.
"Uh oh." Tony muttered.
"Sir, I advise you to dodge."
"Not possible. Even if I did, the evacuating people behind me will get flattened. We have to blow it back."
"We don't have enough energy."
"Put everything into all repulsors."
"Sir, we're 1700 feet in the air. Losing energy will…"
"I know, Jarvis." Tony spoke in a solemn tone. Falling at that height would be instant death.
At that moment the tails all swung down. Iron Man prepared to expend the rest of his energy…but soon frowned. The tails had frozen in place. The kaiju had stopped moving. Everything had grown quiet.
"...Mr. Stark. You should back up a bit." A serene voice sounded beside him.
Tony turned to his left…finding a weird figure floating beside him. Long black hair that went to his feet, slight tints of blue in between black strands. A sleek fitted black armor inlaid with blue glowing lines. Yellow eyes that looked calm but feral at the same time. The fingers of his left hand formed a claw, keeping the beast in place.
"Who are you?"
"...Didn't you know? This city is under my jurisdiction." Shin's expression was devoid of emotion. Still, it was peaceful and calming. Tony's body unconsciously relaxed.
"You…aren't you…Sumigumi? That one guy was talking about you the other day." Iron Man asked. The Nahobino raised an eyebrow at the wrong name.
"I've never heard of this…Sumigumi. Though I'm sure many people speak of me."
"Ugh. You speak just like that guy…Shin, wasn't it? Quite weird." Tony commented.
Jarvis was recording the entire conversation. It would most definitely reach Nick Fury as soon as he ended the recording. This guy didn't give off a feeling of imminent danger. It was the opposite. The Nahobino granted an instinctive feeling of safety. It was innate.
"...As smart as always. Was yesterday as great as I hoped it would be for you?" Shin asked.
Tony's eyes grew wide behind the mask. He thought of all the things he did after opening the museum. The people he spoke to. The deals that went through. The hot asian chicks…The recent show of affection from Pepper…It had been one of the better days he'd had in a long time.
"Holy…" He muttered quietly.
"Tony…you still haven't moved. Back up."
Tsukuyomi waved his hand, a gentle force pushing the metal suit back into the city, a great distance from the battle. Iron Man had been demoted to just watching. It seems his service wasn't needed.
The Nahobino finally turned back to the frozen kaiju. Its muscles were trembling, fighting against the invisible restraints. It wanted to crush the tiny figure before it.
"...What brought you out of the depths?" He hummed quietly.
A green energy could be seen glowing brighter in the titan's throat. Tsukuyomi clenched his hand a bit tighter, robbing the beast of its breath. Its throat was constricted. This was by far the strongest application of the almighty force so far.
"...You seem to have gone mad. Otherwise, you may have understood my question. A shame."
He stretched out his right hand, straightening it toward the aquatic beast. The Nahobino looked in the kaiju's eyes one last time. He was hoping to find just a sliver of clarity. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be found. Tsukuyomi sighed.
VRRRRRRMMMMM
The blade of light ignited from his hand…but it wasn't a normal ignition. The blade had extended across the sky, immediately piercing through the kaiju and going further across the ocean.
He then casually waved his sword hand in an 'x' pattern. The large tails were cut into pieces alongside the beast itself. The kaiju's body was separated in four parts, a sizzling sound heard from wherever the blade touched.
All parts of the corpse fell into the ocean. The only noise that could be heard was the plopping of massive flesh hitting the water…and the steaming sizzle of a hot temperature touching a cool substance.
"..." Tony watched with wide eyes.
His heart was beating rapidly. This was a display of power that he'd never seen before. Not even Thor could match this. Not as casually. Not as easygoing.
"Jarvis…we got that right?" He spoke quietly.
"It has all been recorded, sir. Shall I end the recording and send it to Fury?" The AI followed up.
"Do it now. Right now."
The Nahobino deactivated his blade and surveyed the buildings next to the beachfront. Many evacuating civilians had stopped, watching him with reverent gazes. There were a few of them who put two and two together.
"Isn't that Tsukuyomi? So he really was protecting Ibaraki!"
"Holy…"
"Does that mean Amaterasu is real?"
"I'm a believer, now."
"You're so gullible. No way this is actually a god."
"Thank you, great Kami!"
"Great Kami."
"Great Kami!"
"We have our own superhero! And it's a god! Hahahahaha!" An old man gloated happily.
Children couldn't help but jump around with joy. Young adults had already pulled out their phones, recording the man who floated in the air with his hands behind his back. His long hair and demeanor put him above the rest of the known heroes. The people could tell he was different.
Tsukuyomi smiled slightly, knowing that his presence reassured the people of his city. While he was no hero…that didn't mean he wouldn't deal with devastating threats. His identity didn't mean much, as he knew that the only ones that could threaten him were gods or special demons.
More specifically, demons who could use the almighty element. This meant they were striving to reach godhood, and had acquired suitable strength to challenge the throne. Anything else was child's play.
As he looked at the surrounding people below him, he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. The blue serpent's human face...Shin's expression faltered and his heart rate increased. The human serpent smiled at him, the gentle human face seemingly harmless. Then it disappeared.
Shin immediately vanished as well, melding into the shadows. He quickly returned home to his flower field. Sitting in a seiza position, the young man closed his eyes. The Nahobino form did not relinquish. He didn't feel right. He didn't feel alone.
'He is not real. The serpent is NOT here.' He chanted in his mind.
Meditation was an avenue to access the soul. He looked deep within himself, falling into a calm trance. Grab hold of your emotions. Experience them…understand them…rise above them.
"He's still in the Netherrealm. He isn't real. The serpent is only in your mind. Rise above it…rise above it." Shin muttered.
"Sssuch a shame…I'm very much real." The voice resounded, but Shin couldn't tell if it was fiction or reality.
BAM
A fist crashed against the young man's cheek. It was powerful. His body was blown away from his sitting position…tumbling across the vast flower field, finally stopping under the lone tree.
Shin spit blood out of his mouth while sitting up. That was real. That felt real. He's fucking here. The demon that traumatized him. He's fucking real. Two figures stood in front of him.
A slender man in ceremonial white robes, haori and all…he seemed extremely elegant, but his red eyes betrayed him. They were slitted…just like the serpent. Beside this man was the massive humanoid elephant. Two massive tusks jutted from his lips. Still muscular…still silent…still a destroyer. After almost 2,000 years, the three figures had reunited.
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