Surviving the Death Hunt

Arthur had to admit Dain was right, he couldn’t win this fight. Age had robbed him of what he once had. Years ago, it would’ve been a different battle. But conventional victory wasn’t his goal.

He’d lived a long life and, despite all his strength, had failed to protect his brother and family. But now he had a chance. He just needed to survive long enough to make Dain show his full hand, even if the effort killed him.

He was going to die anyway, so he just needed to create a big enough opening. When his successor inherited his memories, they could pass the knowledge to Scar and help him defeat the bastard.

Fists met fists, the destruction in their wake testifying to their resolve. But Arthur was suffering badly. His attacks weren’t ordinary, strikes powerful enough to collapse a mountain, yet Dain handled them with one hand.

"I knew everything about you, Arthur. That fearsome presence of yours? Mere illusion. All it took was for me to see through it. My, oh my... how the mighty have truly fallen."

Staring at Dain’s smirk, Arthur snarled. He knew this wasn’t about him, it was about his nephew, Scar. The best he could do was endure this humiliation as punishment, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

In his prime, his presence alone would’ve made Dain back down. Now, this child powered through it, smirking, even insulting him.

Still, he wanted to show Dain something, he might be old and rusty now, but he’d once been the Sovereign of the Day. Back then, when the sun rose every morning, humanity thanked him for breathing.

"Emotional State, Third Form, Phoenix Fists."

Flames roared to life around Arthur’s hands. His muscles tensed, swelled grotesquely, and hands ballooned to twice their size.

Without wasting a second, Arthur charged Dain and unleashed three devastating blows. So fast that bystanders could only catch the wind left in his wake, nothing more. Yet Dain blocked two of them, though the force still drove him into the ground.

Before he could get up, Arthur closed the distance. His fist hit Dain square in the gut at the same speed as before, three relentless strikes, one after another.

Dain flew backward. Arthur met him in the air, hands clasped together, and hammered him down into the ground. The destruction carved a massive hole through the fallen palace.

"Emotional State, Third Form, Lightning Feet."

Without hesitation, Dain activated his Emotional State. He lifted from the ground and floated in the air.

"This was why I wanted you on humanity’s side, Arthur."

He spat blood on the floor.

"Only a select few ever earn the title of Sovereign, and you are one of them, a feat even I haven’t accomplished. And to think, you did it while still a Moon Killer. Had you continued your pursuit of strength without an early pause, you would have ascended to Supreme."

Arthur sneered. Dain’s words bounced off him, he was focused on what came next. He’d spent over a month reversing his aging to reclaim his youthful strength, and yet this was all he could manage.

Dain was a tier-3, and even though Arthur was at the same tier, they weren’t equals in strength. Should he use his powerful attack right away? Or stall a little longer? His mind was reeling. He could only do so much.

"You’ll see, Uncle Arthur! Being an early bloomer just means you fall earlier."

Without wasting a moment, Dain charged at Arthur. For a brief time, only the sound of their clashes and flashes of lightning and fire revealed their location. They tore through the ruined palace, reducing it to even greater rubble.

Arthur struggled to keep up. Dain’s speed surpassed his own. With his lightning-based movement, Dain moved nearly as fast as lightning itself, and though Arthur could theoretically match that speed, his old body couldn’t process it.

Even so, this went on longer than expected. Arthur activated different Emotional State forms to keep pace with Dain until he finally couldn’t take any more.

"Protector State, Shadow Flames."

In the heat of the moment, Arthur burst into flame. The heat was so extreme that it melted everything around him, his own skin blistering and peeling. Fire consumed him from hair to eyes, while runic symbols spiraled across his hands and chest.

This left him naked, but that wasn’t all. The overwhelming flames radiating from him spread across the floor, and three identical figures of Arthur materialized.

Dain hesitated. Not only was the heat overwhelming, but each of Arthur’s duplicates burned just as hot as the original, he’d tested one to be sure.

Arthur saw Dain hesitate and knew his gamble had paid off. This was only his second-strongest attack. His most powerful one would require flames that burned even hotter than this.

In his prime, he could have activated it in a heartbeat. But now, even after more than a month of preparation, he could only do so much.

Without wasting a moment, Arthur and his incarnations charged at Dain. They were right on his tail, landing strike after strike while Dain hesitated, torn between options. Arthur didn’t waste this opportunity.

Two of Arthur’s incarnations stood at a distance launching long-range attacks; Arthur and the remaining one engaged in close quarters.

Dain did nothing but stay on the defensive, which made Arthur wary of his intentions. But he knew what he was in for: forcing Dain into using his powerful attacks.

Soon, the flames Arthur generated were enough to cloud the sky. Dain’s shirt was burned now, and even though he avoided most of the attacks, those that landed left heavy marks his healing ability alone couldn’t handle.

Then, as if he’d been waiting for his cue, Dain broke into a twisted smile.

"Protector State, Shrine of Purity."

The moment the words left him, a massive lightning strike nearly half the size of the palace they fought in descended from the heavens.

It was too fast for Arthur’s eyes, but in that brief moment, he understood: Dain had become lightning itself, and the massive bolt above descended from a white and golden gate.

At that moment, Arthur sincerely believed it was over, and even though he didn’t get to see Dain’s strongest attack, he was glad he witnessed such a powerful one.

When the lightning landed, it carved a massive rectangular shape into the ground, nearly five feet deep. All of Arthur’s incarnations were destroyed, and in the depths of the crater lay Arthur, his flames slowly dimming.

Dain hovered in the air, hands tucked in his pockets. Just like Arthur moments before, his hair had turned extremely white, his eyes burning like lightning itself. No runes or sigils marked his body like everyone else’s. Finally, he moved at lightning speed.

The remnants of lightning lingering in the sky clashed with the cloudy atmosphere, and the moment Dain touched down, it started raining.

"Oh? Still alive? I suppose age really does come with stubbornness."

Dain stared down at Arthur, who remained dormant in the pit.

"Believe me, Arthur, this hurts more than you think. You are one of humanity’s greatest treasures. And you understand the danger your nephew represents, especially if those people find him. I take no pleasure in this... but his death may be the price of peace."

He exhaled.

"His death won’t grant us freedom by itself. But it will stop more evil from spreading across the world. This isn’t only my judgment, you must have felt it too when you discovered the truth. The others surely would. Even the universe appears to oppose his existence. The Gate God attacking him should have been warning enough."

Arthur heard everything he said, but it sounded repulsive in his ears. When he first learned Scar wielded Flames of the Unknown, he’d grown defensive. He knew everyone who knew what the Inheritance was would have reacted the same way.

But what was the point of giving other notorious Inheritances the choice if his nephew couldn’t have the same?

He’d already failed as a brother to Scar’s father when he let Dain kill him. He wasn’t going to fail as an uncle. Not this time.

"You seem to have forgotten who I am. I am a Rover, and freedom is what I hold dearest."

Arthur muttered and forced himself to his feet, his body trembling from exhaustion.

"Justice is nothing more than perspective. What you defend as justice may oppress another. True justice can only exist in freedom."

His once-golden eye now burned with flames that even the rain couldn’t quench. He wore a big grin and struck his usual omnipotent pose, more glorious this time with his arms outstretched.

"Divine State, Evil Sun."

Dain panicked and stepped backward. His mouth fell open as he watched Arthur’s body grow younger before his eyes, like he was in his mid-twenties again.

The flames on his skin intensified and burned so hot his flesh began melting, revealing distorted muscles, tissues, and pale bones beneath.

Evil Sun had its origins in ancient fear... the resentment some people carried toward the sun, accumulated over time until it took on a shape of its own.

What defined it was simple and absolute: omnipresence, an inability to die, and a capacity for destruction that had no ceiling.

"What? But I thought—

Before Dain could finish speaking, the rain ceased within a hundred-meter radius around them. A pillar of flame erupted from Arthur’s body and rose to the heavens, and in its wake...

A burning blackish sphere appeared in the sky, looking almost like Arthur had created his own sun. It rotated, growing bigger and bigger. Every bit of moisture around them immediately began evaporating.

Arthur, though, was struggling. His flames hadn’t burned hot enough before he summoned the Evil Sun, and worse, his body was falling apart at a rate even his healing ability couldn’t keep up with. This was his pool of omnipotence, but this time, calling it a curse seemed more fitting.

He had a few attacks left in him, and knowing Dain might still have something up his sleeve, he was going to do everything he could to force his hand.

’I don’t think this kid can use the Shrine of Purity more than once. Chu! That’s a relief.’

Without wasting a moment, Arthur charged after Dain. Dain tried to flee the zone where the Evil Sun shone, but Arthur caught him before he could even reach the edge.

Dain’s speed was nothing to Arthur now. His attacks never missed, landing with double the force, flames burning his opponent from within. Dain knew that at Arthur’s peak, this made him immortal, omniscient, and unbeatable within the Evil Sun’s radiation.

Soon, Dain was coughing up blood, his body failing him as the Evil Sun sucked every bit of moisture from it. Worse, despite his lightning affinity, his speed was nowhere near Arthur’s now. He couldn’t even see where the old bastard was coming from.

Arthur, though, cursed Dain with every breath. His own body was moments from collapse, unable to handle the strength he wielded, and though Dain’s insides must be destroyed by now, the bastard refused to yield.

’Annoying brat! So annoying!’

Arthur’s eyes widened, relief washing over him. He felt it coming. The attack Zeus had once used to split the skies in two.

"Divine State, Ethereal Strike."

When Dain spoke, Arthur knew this was his strongest attack, one that could definitely kill him. Yet he was happy.

An ancient lightning avatar appeared behind Dain.

The figure was massive, ancient in the way that preceded history rather than belonging to it.

White beard, long white hair, a form that appeared built from lightning itself, crackling at every edge. None of it diminished what he was. If anything, the lightning was just a detail, just a surface. The omnipotent presence underneath it needed no introduction.

"See that, kids? That’s his most powerful attack. If my theory is correct, at his will, it will nullify all magic in its path completely."

"I have cleared a path for you."

In that moment, those were the words Arthur settled on, not many, but enough. A message to whoever came after him, and something meant directly for Scar.

The ancient figure outstretched his hand, and the lightning responded: white, black, yellow, and blue, each bolt a different shape, all of it rushing toward him at once like the sky had picked a side. He caught it in one swing. Sent it straight at Arthur without hesitation.

Arthur’s speed wouldn’t save him, and his had already made his peace with that. Escape was never the plan. He hadn’t been waiting for an exit. He’d been waiting for this exact moment, this exact attack. Scar would understand. With this, he could prepare for Dain.

The attack landed and everything it touched drowned in white light—blinding and immediate and gone just as fast.

In its wake, the Evil Sun had been wiped clean, along with everything that had been standing in that space. What was left was a hole twice the size of the one the Shrine of Purity had carved. Arthur’s corpse at the bottom of it. Nothing else.

Dain descended and landed without ceremony. The moment he did, the rain intensified, pouring harder than it already had been.

Dain’s body was done, the simple act of standing had him teetering on the edge of collapse. None of that stopped him. He forced himself upright, found Arthur’s corpse with his eyes, and smiled.

"What a relief. Your body remains intact. Humanity will need it to prepare a proper funeral, Veteran Sovereign of the Day."

He exhaled deeply.

"You deserve that much, mentor."

He raised his head toward the sky and let the rain come down on him, using the quiet of it to pull his thoughts together.

From behind him, a woman appeared: long dark hair, elegant, a few years younger than Dain, moving through the downpour. She held out an umbrella without a word.

"You could have died, you know. This situation could have been prevented if you had him look into the future."

Dain smiled bitterly.

"No, Rosa. I respected him. This was a fight I wanted to win with my own strength."

Rosa sneered.

"I will prepare the corpse. We can return for the funeral afterward."

The terrain bore no resemblance to what it had once been. Every memory this kingdom held had been buried under the wreckage of a single battle, a rising star against a veteran.

The storms and heavy rain the battle stirred up had pushed into human territory and poured without interruption for three days. A testimony of their fearsome battle.