The Invasion Continues

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Returning to the battle in the base of the cosmic empire, Riku attacks Tetsuya while attempting to save the nearly lifeless Alexis. Tetsuya attacks Riku as well, but is hit by a flurry of light energy bullets.

Then, rising from the assault, Tetsuya charged at Riku once more. "When will this dumbass give up already?" Riku muttered. Then Yuki felt Alexis's pulse, but he didn't have one anymore.

"Riku... Alexis... He's… He’s Dead." Yuki said, on the verge of tears, knowing what Paulo would do if he learnt.

"Don't worry, Paulo can summon him like he did me, a Cosmic Soldier." Riku said, dodging Momoi's kick to the head.

"Where is Paulo Satoshi? This is his base, correct?" Momoi muttered to Tetsuya. After nodding, Tetsuya explained that two cosmic soldiers were in front of us and that this was his base.

When Riku and Haruka was in front of them with their cosmic aura, Momoi turned to see that he was right.

After that, Haruka leaped and delivered a shadow-infused tornado kick to Tetsuya's head, but Tetsuya sidestepped the blow and pushed Haruka against the wall.

However, Haruka recovered because Paulo had already declared her dead a few days prior and had called her back to life as a cosmic soldier.

Meanwhile in the realm of the 12 monarchs, Antares, the King of Destruction and Monarch of Dragons, was exploring the vast castle when he was approached by Lucy Lightheart, the Queen of the Sky and Monarch of Life.

“So, how is our trusted vessel of Ash, the cosmic king and monarch of radiation?” Lucy asked softly.

Antares let out a sigh and replied, “He’s… doing alright, but he’s more focused on building his army than on enhancing his own power and defeating evil souls. He can’t surpass limit 3 without eliminating one hundred million evil souls.”

Lucy became lovesick as she thought about who the vessel was. Her heart raced as she recalled Paulo Satoshi.

With a dreamy sigh, Lucy said, “Paulo, my sweet, sweet Paulo.” Antares noticed her expression and teased, “Looks like you still have feelings for him, huh?”

Lucy nodded and giggled. Antares then spoke seriously, “He’s… with Yuki Fujimoto now.” Lucy’s expression darkened, and her aura intensified.

In a fit of rage, Lucy punched Antares in the face, causing it to break and blood to spill. Antares quickly healed himself, surprised by the sudden attack, and said, “Sorry, I might have gone too far. He should be around your age, Monarch of Life. So why not go for it and take him from Yuki?”

Lucy looked at Antares, her murderous aura fading instantly as she asked, “How old is he now?” Antares shook his head and replied, “Five million years old, just like you. But in his new body, he appears younger.”

Lucy’s mood brightened again, and she created a portal to Paulo’s current universe. Lily stepped through the portal and spotted Paulo in the distance.

As the portal closed, Antares muttered to himself, “Why am I in charge of looking after the vessel?” Back at the base, blood was splattered everywhere. “So, when will the cosmic soldiers give up?” Tetsuya chuckled.

Riku gritted his teeth and said to Haruka, “Get Saya, Alexis’s corpse, Saya, and Tsuki out of here. Yuki and I can handle this.”

Riku then created a barrier of light while Haruka pulled Alexis and Saya to safety. Riku clenched his teeth once more and told Yuki, "Go search for Paulo, I will take care of this." Yuki appeared stunned as she took off into the air.

Riku quickly charges at Momoi, his hand charged with shadow energy. He leaps over Tetsuya's sweeping kick and delivers a shadow punch to Momoi.

Riku then puts on the tengu mask and fused with Lily one more time. He then charged at Momoi after punching her, his speed warping reality around him.

Before Momoi could even inhale, Riku had already materialized in front of her, his blade poised to strike.

Momoi’s breath hitched, her body locking in shock, but just as Riku prepared to cleave her in two, steel flashed.

Tetsuya’s sword carved through Riku’s torso with brutal precision, splitting him in half.

Tetsuya stepped back, panting. “What’s gotten into you, Momoi?” Momoi laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Seriously? That’s all? The great Riku Amani is this easy to take down?”

Meanwhile, Riku’s body regenerated instantly, his severed halves stitching together as if the attack had never occurred.

His eyes locked onto Tetsuya, filled with unyielding fury. With a fluid motion, he struck. His blade severed Tetsuya's arm in a flash of pure energy. he let out a piercing scream, staggering backward.

Riku didn’t hesitate, his foot met Tetsuya’s torso with crushing force, launching him skyward. Momoi’s smug expression faltered.

Before Tetsuya could even process what was happening, Riku teleported above him, Black Lightning crackling around him.

Momoi’s eyes widened. “What?! How—” Riku struck. His heel crashed down, sending Tetsuya plummeting toward the ground. But just before he could collide, Riku teleported again, appearing below Him.

A second kick struck, this time sending him hurtling toward the Training room wall. The impact shook the room.

Momoi barely had time to react before Riku appeared in front of her, his smirk cruel and unwavering.

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“What was your power again? Lightning?” Riku said chuckling. Momoi clenched her fists, and yelling “What’s your point?!”

Riku chuckled darkly, “I have three which are Adaption, Light, Lightning, and Shadow.”

Momoi opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Riku struck again. A brutal kick sent Momoi flying toward the wall.

But before she could land, Riku teleported behind her and launching Momoi toward another wall with a merciless strike.

Momoi barely had time to comprehend what was happening before Riku was above her. Lightning coiled around his hands.

A monstrous Lightning Dragon surged forth, its electrified fury consuming Momoi mid-air.

The battlefield trembled from the sheer force of the attack. When the dust settled, Riku stood tall, his breathing calm, his body untouched.

Tetsuya and Momoi, however, lay battered and broken, their forms barely holding together.

Riku exhaled slowly, lowering his mask. He approached them, his voice calm yet cold. “I beat you. You’re lucky you guys are not dead… yet.”

Momoi was the first to get up, healing her arms and body as Tetsuya groaned before finally standing up. Riku's eyes widened as he laughed, "Now that's what I like to see, show me even more strength."

Riku turned his gaze towards the wall of the training room, where he spotted Lily Mori depicted, though she was visible only to him.

Riku exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders. “Good. Now I don’t have to hold back, Thank go– .” Before the words had fully left his lips, Tetsuya lunged, his blade slicing through the air, aimed straight for Riku’s throat.

But Riku twisted away with his inhuman speed, dodging the fatal strike and countering with an attack instantly.

His katana met Tetsuya’s sword with devastating force, splintering his weapon into fragments. Then, the battlefield trembled.

Riku’s instincts screamed, and he launched himself into the air just as the ground erupted, dozens of swords shooting skyward in a violent storm of steel.

He flipped midair, narrowly avoiding the spikes, but Tetsuya was relentless, her barrage of strikes forcing him onto the defensive. "Lily!" Riku called out while dodging another attack.

Riku then yelled, "Tetsuya controls the power of the sword! I need the Tengu Katana!" Without hesitation, Lily hurled the sacred weapon toward him.

Riku snatched it from the air, and the instant his fingers curled around the hilt, shadows pulsed through the blade, dark, alive, hungry.

Tetsuya unleashed another wave of swords, each razor-sharp, each seeking his life. But now, armed with the Tengu Katana, Riku was unstoppable.

He blurred through the battlefield, his strikes reducing the incoming blades to dust. Then Momoi materialized beside him.

A brutal kick shot toward Riku’s ribs, but he intercepted it, blocking with his katana before retaliating with a savage slash.

His blade tore through Momoi’s flesh, but the Ghostface member merely grinned, her wounds sealing shut with Lightning magic.

Sweat trickled down Riku’s temple. His breath came sharp. “I need to put the mask on,” he muttered. Momoi’s heart sank. She had seen the destruction that mask could bring.

“No, don’t let him do it!” Momoi shouted. “If he puts the mask on, we won’t stand a chance!” But Tetsuya was already moving. With eerie calm, he donned the Tengu Mask. Dark energy exploded outward.

his body twisted, reshaping into something far more monstrous. Power surged, bending the battlefield around her.

“My name is Kaito, Lily’s brother,” he declared in Tetsuya’s body, voice deeper, colder. “But this vessel’s true name is Rajin Mori.”

Then he vanished. An instant later, he was before Riku. A devastating uppercut sent Riku flying, air ripping past him. But even as he soared, his focus remained razor-sharp.

Above him, Rajin conjured a blood dragon. The beast roared, its crimson scales gleaming with malevolent energy as it tore through the sky toward Riku. But Riku was ready.

Light magic exploded from his palms, colliding against the monstrous serpent. Energy crackled in chaotic bursts, blood against light, darkness against radiance. Then, he disappeared. When he reappeared above Rajin, his hands moved fast.

Light bullets rained down, sharp spheres of pure energy slamming into Rajin.

The warrior raised his arms to defend, but he was too slow. The attacks struck true, forcing him backward.

And now, Riku had something more. He reached for the mask, the Tengu Mask given to him by Lily. As he placed it over his face, his aura erupted.

The battlefield trembled. Riku also took the mask that has Rajin’s soul in it, Tetsuya exchanged fearful glance at Momoi.

They had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of this transformation before, but Momoi was not the type to back down.

“Momoi, move!” Tetsuya warned. “Riku is—" Too late. Riku was already before Momoi. Lightning surged through his fists.

Riku, with terrifying speed, he unleashed a barrage of devastating punches. Each strike landed with precise brutality.

The shockwaves rippling through Momoi’s body. Then, with a final blow, Riku’s fist connected with Momoi’s skull. A sickening crack. her head tore clean off from the punch, but her head regenerates.

Riku then grumbled in exasperation, "How can I eliminate someone who has regenerative powers? Oh, I believe I have an idea; I must pierce the brain."

Riku swiftly employed light flight to bypass Momoi's lightning defence, launching an attempt to stab her in the head.

However, Tetsuya intervened just in time, pulling Momoi back to safety. With a sigh of relief, Momoi recognized the danger had passed.

In response, Riku forged a sword combining light and lightning energy before charging toward them again.

Leaping from the wall, he aimed for her head; however, he only succeeded in striking her neck, severing it.

Momoi's head reformed as Tetsuya remarked, “Do you really believe that decapitating us will make a difference? It won't, so just give up.”

Riku then grunted, seizing Tetsuya and Momoi’s hands before hurling them out of the base and across the mountains.

Riku took a moment to feel relieved, understanding that it would take days for Momoi and Tetsuya to return from such a distance.

Haruka also exhaled in relief, sensing that the Ghostface group's energy had vanished.

Haruka was with Yuki in the safest section of the base, alongside Saya, Ava, Tsuki, and the lifeless body of Alexis.

Yuki, weary from her relentless efforts since returning from a mission with Riku, asked, “Where is Paulo? Where are the other cosmic soldiers? They should be here to lend a hand.”

With a sigh, Haruka replied, “He’s out gathering supplies because Saya, Ava, Tsuki, and Alexis need food to survive.”

Just then, Riku arrived and took note of Yuki's presence. Annoyance washed over him as he clenched his teeth and exclaimed, “YUKI! You were supposed to retrieve Paulo instead of lingering here.” Yuki sighed in resignation and offered an apology for her oversight.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the base, Paulo walked in to find blood splattered across the walls. As he pushed further inside, he encountered even more chaos and destruction.

Eventually making his way to the safest room in the base, he found Yuki with Haruka and Riku alongside Saya, Tsuki, and Ava.

As Paulo’s gaze fell upon the lifeless body of Alexis Ness, his eyes widened, and his breathing became rapid.

He murmured, “What happened here?” Silence met his inquiry as an ominous sense of bloodlust began to envelop him.

With a surge of intensity, Paulo shouted, “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?” Ava flinched at the outburst and replied breathlessly, “The Ghostface group… they attacked the base. Riku did everything he could to protect us.”

In a rage, Paulo went to Alexis's body and extended his arm. Then, as Paulo's cosmic aura flared up around them both, he uttered the arise incantation. Paulo failed in his first, second, and final attempts to bring Alexis back to life.

Paulo screamed in the cosmic base because he was so angry about this.

Paulo's gaze moved from Alexis's body to the pile of Oni bodies close by. "ARISE," he ordered, lifting his arm above Kuro's body first. They felt a rush of green cosmic energy; the first time, it worked.

He headed over to the other Oni corpses that were deceased and said, “ARISE,” and brought them back to life. Then Paulo shouted, "GOD, ONLY IF I WAS HERE," as he glanced one final look at Alexi's disembodied body.

immediately after this the doors slammed open, Riku realised that Tetsuya and Momoi had returned. Riku glared at Tetsuya and muttered, "Paulo, the invaders are back, they got Lightning and Sword Creation Magic."

Then, assuming a fighting stance while nodding at what Riku said, Paulo said, "I know this will become hell if I allow this to continue right."