Flashing beyond the speed of light, clashing his fist against Leon’s forearm, Corbin pauses and the two begin a struggle.

  “Surprising that you can catch me at this speed: Which far exceeds the speed that you showcased in your raged state.”

  Leon didn’t respond and the two let off. They stepped back and Corbin’s body shivered with excitement.

  He lowered his arms to the sides and cooled his excited expression.

  “Well, this is going to be most interesting indeed.”

  He spread his bulky arms out and slowly clenched his fists, repeatedly.

  “You see, Leon, while you’ve been battling, drowning yourself in depression and the demon that resides within you, I’ve been training every single day since my embarrassing defeat at the hands of you.”

  Leon raised a brow and his pupils averted.

  “My training has been brutal, my mental state tested by illusions I purposely created just so I can prepare myself for another defeat. Although, it will seem that’s not happening.”

  He brought his arms down and his eyes grew big again. The excitement he had earlier shot into his bloodstream, giving him the adrenaline high he seeks.

  With his eyes quivering, bloodshot, he went up to Leon’s face and edged towards it.

  “Yes… I’m certain you will not be able to beat me now. Come, stimulate my new found power so I can prove that I’m the strongest of them all!”

  Leon’s face was drenched by the shadow of Corbin's face. As the two stood in silence, Corbin was punched away by Leon with a single punch. He was sent towards abnormal mountain formed from his raged state where he crashed and lay in place.

  Leon’s fist was sizzling and it had steam coming off the edge.

  “You truly are pathetic, Corbin. But, I guess we’ll test how far you’ve come.”

  Corbin’s eyes were blank and he pushed himself off the mountain side. He lands on his feet, cracks his neck and braces himself. His mana began to grow in numbers and his power was starting to disrupt the flow of the environment. He began to power up and show more of his untapped battle power and unleashed it onto the world, flashing it as it blinded everyone's eyes. Flows of electrons, towers of plasma shot, propelled off his body as he spread his arms out and manically grinned at Leon who stood without an expression. His body was pulsing with electricity and light and he opened his mouth to let out more energy.

  With his power out, Corbin got ready in a linebacker position.

  “Here I come!”

  With his hair spiked, blue and his body amped up, Corbin ran at speeds greater than light towards Leon. He threw a powerful straight jab that Leon blocked with his forearm, sending powerful gusts of wind that felt greater than any recorded wind speed. Then, he followed up with a flurry of punches, forcing Leon to block all with both arms. Corbin chuckled beneath his breath and surprised him by throwing an upper Jab that shot Leon into the air. Leon and Corbin were flying everywhere in the sky, zig zagging, punches blocked with each stop, Collison's that rocked the atmosphere: He blocked with his knees, his arms, a single forearm until Corbin caught another blind spot that launched him further away.

  Leon braked in the air and put his arms out and snapped his fingers. Corbin was smiling until he saw a new world swelling from behind Leon. The two were sucked into the dimension Leon had summoned and Corbin realised his new situation.

  “So, you have summoned me into your world?”

  He glanced around and saw dark red skies filled with plasma clouds and pillars as thick as skyscrapers.

  “Huh, you’re still angry about something, although, I can sense that you’ve gained a new sense of calm.”

  Leon nodded and Corbin smirked, quickly teleporting to Leon to which he quickly reacted by shooting a left hook. Corbin also replied with a right and their fists collided, creating a monstrous explosion. The two flung downwards and were facing away from each other.

  Corbin had a frown and grabbed his stomach area, coughing out blood.

  “Tch… though my newly immeasurable power has been unleashed…”

  He turned around and saw Leon’s back.

  “...Despite being drained from earlier encounters, you’re still able to keep up and unexpectedly land a blow?”

  Leon blinked before also turning around.

  “Yeah…”

  Leon appeared disappointed but his facial expression told Corbin that he was as serious as an IRS agent auditing a poor tax payer.

  “There’s no denying it, you really are strong.”

  ***

  In the real world, the gang were standing by and Sarah wondered where her father had gone with the new foe. John already knew and was watching their battle with his ghoulish eyes.

  “You freaks just keep showing up like fucking cockroaches'.” Jack said.

  His eyes were set on Ravana who also was watching the fight unfold.

  “Hmph, after their battle concludes, I’ll make sure I rip your entire urethrae and hang it on my wall, punk.” Ravana said.

  Jack rolled his eyes.

  “Whatever. Say, John?”

  John’s pupils were moving with the speed of the battle.

  “Yeah?”

  “Where did they go?”

  John grinned and pointed where Sarah was standing without taking a look.

  “Ask her. She should be able to find her father.”

  Sarah groaned and began to concentrate. She shut her eyes and scanned the area but found nothing.

  “Dig a little deeper than that, my sweet.” John said.

  Sarah groaned some more.

  “Fine.”

  She scanned more and dug even deeper. She could feel her father’s life force and detected it in another dimension, and a very familiar one. Once she was able to get his signal, she saw that they were in his world.

  It made her gasp and frustrated.

  “How did they end up in his mind?”

  “Concentrate harder and open your eyes to see the battle clearer, Sarah.”

  Sarah did and once she could conquer the heat of the battle, it appeared in front of her eyes.

  “Father…”

  Jack grabbed her hand and he too was able to see the full extent of the battle.

  “Leon’s got this, no problem.”

  Sarah smiled and their clutch grew tighter.

  “Yeah.”

  “Possibly, so long as he can reserve what’s left in his tank.”

  “True, he has gone through a lot of his power when he fought all those freaks and shit.”

  “No no, it ain’t that. It’s his resilience to the weaknesses around him that’s drained him. But, if he could conquer that demon inside his soul, then he should have no problem fighting off Corbin who is in fact formidable.”

  Sarah turned to John.

  “How formidable is he compared to that garbage over there.”

  Ravana gasped and frowned.

  “I heard that!”

  John groped his chin.

  “Hmm, tough to say. Doesn’t matter at the moment. What matters is if he can overcome the demon.”

  “You’re really fixated on him overcoming his power, huh?” Sarah said.

  “It’s not about his powers or his nature, it’s about the very thing that makes him the being he is and will be down the line.”

  John’s excitement made him chuckle and rub his hands together.

  “I’m so excited to see my young amigo conquer his rage and turn it over! Ooo, someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!”

  “Right. If I may ask, what happens if he can’t overcome the demon inside his soul?” Sarah asked.

  “Well, if your father fails to do so, not only will he be a slave to his emotions and the monster attached to his soul, but I will have no choice but to get William to erase him from this reality.”

  Sarah’s eyes sank.

  “Huh?! What do you mean by erase!”

  “William, he’s involved too?” Jack asked.

  John wiggled a finger.

  “Nuh uh, too early to expose such deep details. Let's just watch the battle and I’ll explain everything after he beats him.”

  Sarah deeply frowned and crossed her arms.

  “How frustrating. You know, I’m starting to think you’re just as bad as that guy over there.”

  John froze and shut his open mouth expression.

  “That-that hurts to hear you know?”

  “Whatever…”

  Sarah watched as her father fend off the new foe and felt his strength at the same as it was before they engaged.

  “Dad… please, win.”

  ***

  Throwing a flurry of straight jabs at lightening speed, Leon effortlessly catches every single jab thrown at him. Corbin repeats this for another ten seconds and manages to push Leon back with all the catching. Leon flew backwards to grow distance but Corbin’s relentless, having a grand smile mid-flight as he shortens the distance.

  Leon smacked his lips and the two were zig zagging all throughout the area. Zapping the atmosphere, spiraling throughout the dimension; Corbin’s body became a propelling force of sheer energy as his power kept increasing with every contact of flesh despite being blocked. Leon’s own dimension began shaking from the raw energetic propulsion of the two flying everywhere. Then, he managed to get an opening on Leon and he launched his right fist right into his stomach. The force of his punch sent Leon flying away, crashing through countless pillars and columns. Corbin chuckles as he’s on the ground, giving his running momentum to leap back into the air. He puts his feet forward and drop kicks Leon back to the ground where he crash lands but he slips himself back to his feet and the two’s speed increases even substantially.

  The tall pillars were being destroyed from the cat and mouse game they were having as Corbin’s electrifying aura left marks on all and destroyed the area afterwards. Once Corbin caught up to Leon he started throwing a barrage of flurries at him as he continued his evasive action. Their fighting created more explosions, more electrical currents that even the outside world was beginning to take effect. The spectators could hear the rocky crashes, thunderous sound barrier breaking attacks. Clouds zoomed in and lightning began to strike around them violently from there dimension. Realising that realities being affected by their raw power, John created a dome around them and hoped for the best.

  They collided fists and both grappled their palms, flinging down to the charred earth and fighting in it. Exploding back out, sliding their feet on the ground, they both paused in between the crater they came out of. Leon was bruised, covered in dust, dirt, debris, but he wasn’t hurt.

  Seeing his determination made him fist pump and grin ear to ear.

  “As expected from one of the strongest beings alive!”

  His aura began charging up again and grew inflamed.

  “How about we test more of that demonic strength…”

  Corbin's mana straightened and shot into the sky as he began to charge up his power.

  “Let's see how you can evade all the destructive energy inside my newly built body!”

  He put his palms forward and a huge ball of energy began to form and destroy the entire area around them. It shot thick layers of lightening into the sky that made its way back into reality and struck the grounds and heavens. His eyes grew exponentially wide as his grin turned to a smear open mouth smile.

  His hair grew spikier and darker blue and his attack was ready.

  “Now, evade this!”

  He shot the built energy and it formed a gigantic beam that not even Leon could think of evading. Its speed was too fast and Leon had no choice but to tank it on as he put his forearms up to shield himself. The beam swallowed him whole and exploded, creating a mushroom cloud bigger than mount Everest. The area turned a thick red and orange, consuming the colours of Leon’s dimensions. Once the explosion and smoke settled, Leon’s forearms were scarred, bleeding, bruised. He was knitting his brows as he slowly put them down when Corbin used that to his advantage to land a thunderous backhand punch to the side of his face and followed up with a sidekick to his chin that left him stunned.

  The two impacts blew away all the smoke and colours of the environment and even wiped away the colours that represented Leon’s anger in his own dimension. The smoke trailing off his body and face made Corbin chuckle with satisfaction as he watched Leon’s response to his attacks by twitching his fingers.

  “So, you can take damage after all?!”

  The joy in his voice when he could see Leon’s pain made his smile almost rip his face in half.

  “What an outstanding revelation!”

  He clapped twice and powered up more.

  “Do you have any idea of what type of training I’ve endured? The harsh dimensions, malnourishment, the brutal mental training I put up with for years just to reach this level?”

  Leon finally moved a muscle and it was just an arm he put down. A shadow lingered over his face while Corbin began to go into detail of his new found power.

  “As the years passed, as my strength grew, I thought I had surpassed you when I was able to defeat a clone of you that Ravana had created for me. It was an exact replica of what I remembered: The awful energy, the destroyer who almost killed everyone. But, it was painfully obvious that the clone was just a replica of the past and not the present.”

  He clenched a fist and raised it in his view of Leon.

  “I had no idea you suppressed your actual strength when one day you exposed it, even if it was briefly, it was enough to demonstrate that all my training was meaningless.”

  He shut his eyes and began to shake.

  “So, I had to force myself to swallow a bitter pill in asking help from Ravana: For him to spare the power of the cult that he had built. And he was more than happy to oblige, so long as I can put an end to you, Leon Bolverkr.”

  He reopened his eyes and they were pulsing.

  “After much anticipation, the long wait, studying you even longer, sucking those wretched fools dry! I now have unimaginable latent abilities, powers, and potential that surpasses the limits of mortal beings.”

  He chuckled and unclenched his fist.

  “And seeing as you can only dodge my attacks, it’s as clear as day that who will win this ba—”

  “Shut… up…”

  “Huh?”

  Leon shook his head and dragged one of his hands across his face.

  “I could give two shits about how strong you’ve gotten.”

  Corbin’s jaw dropped and he seemed confused.

  “But is all the monologuing necessary?”

  Leon deeply furrowed his brows and glared at Corbin.

  “Seriously, how much of a comic book geek can you be?”

  Corbin twitched an eye and he began to ground his teeth.

  “Someone’s been rehearsing their role a little too seriously… don’t you think?”

  Corbin was dead silent and his eyes were wide. As a gust of wind came in, blew their clothing, Corbin’s eyes were pinnacle of bloodshot and he jolted into a charging pose. He was powering up even more and his hair spiked up higher and grew more intense. His skin turned magenta and his veins pulsated golden.

  A giant sphere of his growing mana formed around him and kept expanding as he charged more and more.

  “You’re… FINISHED!”

  Leon could see that he was transforming and got ready for the worst.

  Corbin’s fire was electrifying, his body emitted his rage and the sphere’s expansion swallowed his dimension entirely. Leon was eaten up by his power and Corbin flashed at him in speeds Leon thought he wouldn’t imagine. Corbin’s momentum fired into a devastating punch that he launched at Leon, which he couldn’t block. The punch sent horrific devastation and eviscerated everything behind him. Leon’s own dimension fell apart just from the blow alone and they saw the terrifying light trail from the punch coming out of thin air. Everyone was in shock and awe as they saw something flying out with the path of destruction.

  The person who could see it was Sarah who couldn’t help but turn pale.

  “DAD!”

  Leon’s body circled the globe hundreds of thousands of times until Corbin appeared and gave Leon the beatdown of a century. Punched, pummeled, kicked, smacked, his face became the embodiment of a punching bag and Leon’s eyes were blank. Every blow created world ending devastation as his body was tossed, flung, hurtled from each attack.

  “My bodies become greater than a propelling force of kinetic energy, not even light could reach the momentum of my awesome might at this point.” Corbin said.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  After giving Leon another thousand punches, he grabbed his legs and twirled him around. The kinetic energy from being swirled around created a blackhole that began to suck everything. Corbin threw him up and the blackhole sucked him in. He flew high into the sky and shot a beam into it that exploded the mini sphere of destruction. The flash of light, the gravitational force of the explosion was too much for surrounding the atmosphere and began to create disruptions in their area. Corbin zig zagged, twirled around, stringly coursing from the unstoppable energy being created from his body and he focused it all into one more punch that he threw into Leon’s stomach.

  The group could barely see the fight from the amount of chaos being created. John was growing worried about how much longer their world could handle it. Sarah watched in horror as her father was being toyed around.

  Corbin’s punch, the momentum and the kinetic energy from it created distortions around them because he was holding all of it back.

  “This is, good bye, DESTROYER!”

  Corbin let all the energy explode and pulled his arm back with Leon still embedded into his fist and shot him away from their world. He was shot out of there reaches, past there moon, then the asteroid belt where eventually he was flying passed the rest of the solar system in which his body made landfall on the last rock, Pluto. He lay flat, staring into darkness without a star in sight. Covered in dozens of bruises and his forearms scarred and bloodied, he casually sat up and sat in the ambience of silence. He felt sad and disappointed in what had occurred.

  He glanced at his surroundings and grabbed a handful of space dirt.

  Unreal… he thought.

  He got up to his feet and couldn’t breath as he held his breath. He casted a spell on himself to make himself breath. Once he could he was able to catch the severity of his situation.

  For a moment, I thought I was dead when he gave me that blow.

  Leon let the dirt drizzle pass his fingers. The gravity was so low it felt like an eternity for the dirt to make landfall. He took a breath and shook his head. The matter was boggling Leon’s mind so much he couldn’t comprehend anything anymore, not even his own existence which he started to question. Thinking, looking back at everything made him realise that everyone involved, especially himself shouldn’t make sense or exist, but only in fiction. Questioning God’s existence came into mind until he heard John bloat about William’s presence. It made him come to a conclusion that William is the one God in charge and the one for bringing balance.

  We should’ve never existed. This battle, where I stand should not bring any comprehension yet…

  Leon brought up his hands and observed their rough nature.

  Here I stand on a space rock, my skin still intact, my lungs not bursting or freezing to death or my blood boiling. We really are something, aren’t we? My dearest daughter…

  Leon lowered his hands and frowned.

  Perhaps, William can fix all this and make everything normal again. Maybe, my dream could come true if he resolves the issue of my wretched ex-wife.

  Leon gapped his mouth and glanced at the darkness in front. There was only one visible planet that was Neptune. It made him grin and the shadow that lingered his face early on crept in to cover half his face.

  To one day be a normal human being.

  He clenched his fists. He flexed his muscles and got into position to leap. He shut his eyes, focused where Corbin’s energy was emitting and could read it. He nodded and launched into darkness, leaving a giant crater half the size of Pluto's surface, leaving a permanent mark on the rock.

  Back on earth, everyone’s getting battle ready except for John and Ravana who were still normal and standing with their guards down.

  Sarah stepped up and her aura was visible.

  “How dare you, how—dare—!”

  “Looks like he won’t be a problem anymore.” Corbin said.

  Sarah growled and her power began to rise which caught his attention.

  “So, you must be this Samantha woman I’ve heard about.”

  He cracked his neck and twirled his arm.

  “You definitely possess great potential, but you still don’t stand a chance against me, girl.”

  John walked behind Sarah and patted her shoulder. She looked back and his smile had her scrunch her face in confusion. He then looked over his shoulder to Ravana who was tapping a finger on his arm.

  “Hey, Ravana.”

  “What? Mali-John?!”

  “Your buddy over there could sooo kick your ass and kill you.”

  “Tch, and?”

  John squinted his eyes at Ravana.

  “But, I know you can still take care of him with ease with that accursed spell of yours embedded in your glare.”

  “Meh, let the spiked hair meathead have his moment.”

  Ravana glared at the sky and his upper lip twitched.

  “This ain’t over yet.” he said.

  Sarah’s confused about what they’re discussing. Meanwhile, Corbin powered up and began laughing with joy.

  “I am no doubt the strongest of them all! In all the universe!”

  He aimed his palm at the group and Sarah got ready again.

  “And now that I’ve rid of Leon, it’s time that I dispose of the rest of you so I can truly be the ruler of them all—!”

  A sudden burst of energy crashed behind Corbin, and it shook the earth. Everyone stumbled on their footing and fell from the gargantuan impact that took place. John could feel that whatever it was, the force was enough to tilt the Earth and have it go off its solar orbit.

  Ravana growled as he was getting back on his feet.

  “That goddamn monster!”

  John laughed as he helped Sarah get back on her feet as well.

  “He’s pissed.”

  Corbin shook his head and slowly looked back to see a giant meteor impact crater and smoke trailing out of it. He dropped his jaw as he saw the figure climb out of the smoke screen and brush the dirt off his clothes. Without an expression on his face, Leon took a glance at Corbin as he brushed the last of the burnt ends off his clothes.

  He brought out a surprising grin which caught Corbin off guard.

  “We shouldn’t exist, Corbin.”

  Corbin’s speechless as he was trying to comprehend the displacement of Leon’s confidence. But, anger seeped into his mind and he quickly balled his fists and his eyes turned bloodshot.

  “You really are testing the full extent of everything that I’ve built!”

  His power exploded and he bolted and zig zagged at Leon, landing thousands of flurries at him. Leon stood his ground as he was blocking every punch, kick and attack. When he found an opening he took a shot and gave Corbin a gut wrenching punch that paused him briefly. The force of the punch made him gag a pool of blood and sent him flying away, carving the earth. He dug his feet into the ground to stop the momentum of the attack and hung his head for a moment before monologuing again.

  Once he raised his head at Leon’s view, he was manically smiling as blood poured out his mouth.

  “Yes! That’s it! Show me your strength Le—”

  Leon’s still face erupted in front of Corbin’s eyes. He quietly gasped as Leon pulled back his right arm. He proceed to lay a barrage of fist attacks and ended his assault with a super kick that launched his head to the sky. All of Leon’s flurries, the power of punches sent city shattering shockwaves that lay waste to the lands behind Corbin's body. Corbin’s eyes went blank for a moment, then they were glowing blood red and he abruptly sent Leon flying away with a quick soccer kick.

  Leon dragged his feet on the earth and a mile distance was formed between them.

  “He’s still got some left after all.” Leon said.

  Corbin growled, flinched, clutched his head, screamed in anger. He yelled out his frustrations and it eventually transitioned to toned laughter.

  He got in a powering up stance and his mana grew tenfold.

  “Forget about ruling this world! I’m going to blow it to hell and you along with this entire galaxy out of existence!”

  Leon gasped and saw where all the concentrated mana was building. Above Corbin was a spiraling electric sphere that had the appearance of a dying star. Everyone watching grew worried, even John and Ravana weren’t sure if Leon could stop an attack that wretched.

  Corbin put his hands to the sphere and flew up into the sky where it grew erratic and started causing cataclysmic damage to the world below. The light flashing was blinding, the atmosphere grew dark and Corbin became a Centre of galactic energy.

  He felt the sphere ready and put it forward in front of his body.

  “DARK MATTER BEAM!”

  He shot the energy and it swallowed the whole scenery. Everyone screamed, panicking as it was closing in Leon’s way. Leon was calm and his right fist began to tremble. He pulled it back and the attack was just inches of making contact.

  Corbin, you really have been reading too many comics. Leon thought.

  His mana exploded out of him for a second and it dragged to his fist. It faded and Leon shot his fist at the beam and it was split in half, reaching out of the atmosphere and splicing the ozone layer. Luckily John’s bubble prevented everyone from being exposed to the sun's rays again. The shockwave from Leon’s punch sent Corbin hurtling to space where Leon appeared behind him and placed his hand over his face. He plummeted Corbin back to the earth where they crashed and created an extinction level explosion.

  “What’s happening?!” Sarah shouted.

  “Beats me!” Jack replied.

  John smiled and Ravana smacked his lips.

  “It appears that this fight is over.” John said.

  “Tch…”

  The huge clouds of smoke faded out, the sky wasn’t darkened by the colliding energies, rather a gleamed sky came in; grey with a hint of blue trying to slip its way through the sad clouds. When the dust settled, the smoke was fully cleared out, Corbin was lying in a crater, broken and missing some limbs. He still had his right arm and half a leg, but the momentum of the crash had destroyed his body. He was pale and slowly shortening out the last of his life with every broken gasp of air. With the remaining energy left in his body, he raised halfway to check where Leon was at and found him kneeling down to him.

  “Did, did I… lose?”

  “Jesus, you’re still alive after that? Huh, you really did get strong, Corbin.”

  Corbin coughed and blood shot out from where a hole formed in his chest.

  “A…t least, I-I was able to dam—age you, right?”

  Leon nodded and patted his shoulder.

  “You did scratch me. You surprised me, honestly.”

  For a moment, Corbin didn’t respond and silence grew between the two. Then, he broke it with broken chuckles that wheezed out.

  “You… liar.”

  Leon stood up and didn’t say anything.

  “You’ve been… holding back the entire time. It wasn’t a fair fight, not even from the start.”

  Leon sighed and put his hand on his hip.

  “What makes you say that?”

  He chuckled some more and groaned.

  “You had strength to spare. Enough strength to beat me with less than five attacks, enough strength to come back to our world when I launched you into space… and, you had enough strength to stand without barely a scratch on you.”

  Leon walked forward and looked up at the grim sky.

  “It was all that I had left. I just let it swell, enough to beat you, enough to spare afterwards.”

  “Ha… ha, whatev-ever you say, Leon.”

  Corbin coughed more and more until he gasped in his last breath, enough for him to speak one last time.

  “Thank you… for at-at least giving me the feeling of being strong.”

  Leon felt his body ache and his knees were starting to give out. Corbin gasped in another breath and it eventually dragged out. His final groan was out and he went silent. Leon fell to his knees and slammed his fist on the ground. He ground his teeth and felt a sharp pain in his chest. Seeing her father in new agony made Sarah waste no time and go to him. She flew to him and landed beside, carefully placing her small hand on his back.

  She rubbed it and was eager to hug him but resisted.

  “Dad, you okay?”

  Leon was quick to rub the new pain away so he could look at the person who broke him out of his monstrous state. With a smile, he grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes and could no longer see Samantha in her place.

  “Sarah, you’re okay.”

  Sarah also smiled and the two bumped heads.

  “More than ever. I mean, you’re grabbing my hand without going berserk now. So I’d say, it's a step in the right direction.”

  Jack finally arrived and was panting.

  “Damn… wha-what a weird ass thing to see.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes and looked at Jack.

  “Well, get used to it because I’m taking advantage of every opportunity I can gain to get close to my dad.”

  Jack grinned.

  “You do that. I’m just happy to see that you’re both okay.”

  Leon could barely get to his feet now that the aftermath of everything was coming to bite him. He moaned and Sarah put his arm around her tiny shoulders.

  “Relax dad, you’ve gone through a lot of mana. You need to rest.”

  “That he does, my dear, that he does.” John said.

  Everyone turned to where he was standing and beside him was Shaman who was a nervous wreck.

  “You’re one cheeky, smart guy, but that’s what makes you one of the greatest to live, my dear friend Leon.”

  “No need for flattery, I do what needs to be done.”

  “Well, have you overcome the demon in your soul during your fight with poor Corbin?”

  Leon put his head down for a second. He rubbed his chest and could still sense the demon lurking within his soul.

  “Who knows…”

  “Ah, it’s no matter. In my opinion you’ve definitely overcome the son of a bitch.”

  Sarah nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah! How else would you have beaten Corbin?”

  “Doubting your father’s powers, my dear daughter?”

  Sarah shrugged.

  “You did lose a bit of mana when fighting everyone.”

  Leon chuckled and shook his head.

  “I’ve been holding back the entire time. Just those stupid crystals were draining me.”

  “Mmm.” Sarah replied.

  Everyone was feeling at ease until Shaman stepped into the picture.

  “Leon, Sarah.”

  He kneeled and put his head down in shame.

  “Please, forgive me for my actions and putting your daughter in the hands of that maniac.”

  Leon’s grin faded and he tried to take a step forward but he was weakened to the core. Sarah, instead took his place and approached Shaman. He didn’t know she was coming since he had his eyes shut.

  She had a subtle smile and patted Shaman and he reacted to her tiny hand by gasping.

  “I forgive you, Shaman, your real name, is it?”

  Shaman looked up and it was as if he were staring at an Angel.

  “I’m-I’m…”

  “Such a pathetic, weak, detestable, foolish, goddamn trader!”

  Sarah growled when she heard the fierce deep voice that’s harassed her for a month. She got ready for the worst and got into a fighting stance. Shaman quickly got back up and covered Sarah by being her shield, preventing her from engaging with Ravana.

  The crimson eyed maniac was livid and seeing the sight of happiness and victory made him gag and grimace.

  “Watching all of you so carelessly act as I’ve been defeated…”

  Ravana’s eyes bugged out and he began puffing smoke out his nostrils.

  “... thinking I’d accept this?! After all the hard work that I’ve put together, years of putting up with fools like you?! Shaman! Do you all think it’s over just like that?!”

  Ravana stomped forward and began to pant in anger.

  “You’re all so despicable! Absolute buffoons!”

  John raised a brow and tapped his chin.

  “Hmm, how will this conclude, I wonder?”

  “You! Malificus! Quit acting like you're some goddamn spectator when you’re just as involved as anyone else!”

  “Ey ey ey ey, relax. I really haven’t done anything, you short tempered fool.”

  John’s stirring the pot and Ravana’s patience boiled tenfold. Sarah tried to come up with something to put an end to him, but she felt her father’s gaze pierce past her. She stepped aside and Leon limped past her and Shaman felt his hand grab his shoulder.

  “Step aside, It's me that he wants.” Leon said.

  “Leon…”

  Shaman stepped aside as well and Leon limped forward, grabbing his shoulder.

  “Ravana.”

  “Tch… look at you. You absolute freak of nature.” Ravana said.

  Leon was serious and mad.

  “Never in my life would I imagine that my fate would be sealed by a man as pathetic as you, Ravana.”

  “Ha ha! Keep speaking, weakling! Because whatever you’ve got next to say next will be your last line before I eviscerate you from this reality.”

  Sarah couldn’t take being on the sideline and stood next to her father. She grabbed his hand and threw her fist in his direction.

  “You will not take my dad from me! No more will I allow such a revolting man like you to co-exist with the rest of us.”

  Ravana’s brows knitted furiously and a vein popped out of his head.

  “Why… WHY! Must you stand by his side, Samantha!”

  “I’m not SAMANTHA!”

  Sarah’s shout scared everyone, including Ravana.

  “That’s it… that is IT!”

  Ravana’s eyes glowed and he began to march forward towards them.

  “Leon, you’ll be the first to fall, then everyone else shall feel my wrath!”

  “Stops!” Chelsea shouted.

  Ravana abruptly stopped, his facial expression went stone cold when he heard Chelsea’s voice. Slowly turning his head to look half way over his shoulder, to get a glance at Chelsea who’s standing on some rubble made him grunt.

  She swallowed her fear, and gave herself some courage to speak to Ravana.

  “Enoughs, enough, Ravana.”

  Everyone else was more than shocked to hear her stop Ravana, especially Shaman.

  “Your senseless actions, your ego, it all has to end. You’re finished, Ravana.”

  Ravana’s eyes went blank and his face grew icy the more she spoke.

  “My loves dead, people we got along with are deads! All because we thought and believed in your stupids ambition.”

  She clenched her fists and put her head down.

  “But you knows what made us follows you? The truth, Ravana?”

  She raised her head up and her eyes were glistening.

  “It was the facts that we were like our old times! Unity, friendship, without Samantha’s involvement! I only joined because my loves did, so I could be by his side.”

  She weakly pointed at Leon and smiled.

  “Its trues I still loves you, Leon, you are my numbers one in my heart… and I will never forgives that vile woman from pushing me away from you. But, I still accepted my loves heart, even if he was my number two.”

  Putting her hand down, wiping her eyes, Chelsea sniffled and cleared her throat.

  “Despite that, he still accepted me. But, yous never liked me, even from the starts. And you know what? I don’ts cares! Because seeing your plan fall and your ego shattered is such a satisfying thing to witness.”

  John grinned and nodded in agreement.

  “This defeat should be a wake up call and you shoulds be open minded to changing. Your time’s up, and you needs to rethink a new pathway through… otherwise I’lls be glads to see eithers Leon or John takes your life.”

  Leon’s beyond shocked to see Chelsea stand up for herself. Seeing this side of her made him smile and gave him some momentum to raise his hand to wave at her. She wiped her eyes again and nodded. Meanwhile, Ravana’s still quiet and a heavy shadow hovered over his face. Feeling more encouraged at the moment, Chelsea took a deep breath and her tears were all wiped away.

  She furrowed her brows and took a step forward.

  “Ravana, it’s time to calm down and not be so angry all the times. Come on, lets all get along again, like old times.”

  Ravana eerily looked over his shoulder to Chelsea and his stone cold expression sent chills down her spine. It was enough to wipe away her new found courage.

  “Did you just tell me to calm down? And ease my anger?”

  His tone was softened, low and dead. Chelsea’s eyes quivered as she stared into his soulless crimson pupils.

  Ravana fully turned his body to Chelsea and his expression went wild and his anger was smeared across his face.

  With his eyes bulging out, he growled and aimed his palm at her.

  “YOU DARE ASK ME TO CALM DOWN IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS?!”

  Chelsea felt her windpipe crushed and she was flung in the air.

  “YOU VILE, IGNORANT, WEAK WHORE!”

  Ravana swiped his hand and Chelsea was turned into a cloud of red mist. She’s turned into a raining cloud of blood as the foggy red mist faded out and turned the ground around them into a bloody field. Leon was furious and John was shocked that he’d do such a barbaric thing to her. Jack aimed his gun at him as he held Sarah in his arm.

  “Tch… interfering with my plans, mouthing off to me, daring to ease my anger? Who does she think she is? Foolish woman.”

  Leon’s teeth were grounding over Chelsea’s demise. His lividness shot some adrenaline into his bloodstream, giving him more strength to stand in front of everyone.

  “I need all of you to leave, now!”

  Sarah pulled away from Jack and grabbed his hand.

  “Dad, no! I’m not leaving you again!”

  “Sarah, for the first time in my lowly, miserable life, I’m putting my foot down and being a father. I order you to go!”

  “But dad—!”

  “No! All of you leave, it’s me that he wants, no one else.”

  He put his arm out and coughed.

  “Ja-Jack, take Sarah! And get her away from here!”

  “Hah! That won’t do you any of you any good because once I’m through with you, Leon Bolverkr…”

  Ravana began his death march towards them with wide wicked eyes and a twisted smile expressing his awaiting victory.

  “... when you’re turned into ash, I’ll take back Samantha and claim her as mine!”

  “That’ll never happen, not even if you wish or pray for it.”

  “Huh?”

  A mysterious, familiar voice came outta nowhere, then, the gang saw someone gently place their hand on Ravana’s head, and he was smashed into the ground with ease. After being buried, he exploded half his body out of the ground and his face was blanch.

  Who would dare…? He thought.

  Standing behind him, her glowing pale skin, her raven black hair fluttering, but more stand out, her calm, gorgeous platinum eyes were staring dead at the group.

  Leon softly trickled a breath, and swallowed.

  “Samantha….” he muttered.

  Sarah’s jaw was dropped and she clutched her chest.

  “Mom…”

  Ravana tilted his head in confusion. He wondered what they were frightened by? Then, he looked up and saw the woman he was truly after. He grew a huge open mouth smile and was teary eyed.

  “Sa-Samantha?! Is that re-really you?!”

  Samantha menacingly looked down at him, and her cold stare wiped the smile off his face.

  “I will never forgive you for the actions depicted towards my adoring family.”

  Her voice sent fear deep in his bone marrow. The same voice, tone that rejected him years ago was too shocking for him to comprehend.

  “As I stated before, Ravana, you are a foolish, sad, desperate man; A man who doesn’t deserve to be labelled as one, but, rather, a deafening clown who thinks he can rise the ranks… just because he learned some old black magic spells that can even the odds against the strongest of his foes.”

  “Sa-Samantha, I… I—!”

  “Be quiet. You’ve spoken enough, you’ve seen enough, more importantly, you’ve lived long enough.”

  “H-huh?”

  Leon slowly walked backwards with his daughter and began shaking.

  “Dad, is, is mom going to?”

  Leon couldn’t respond. His fear was too great.

  “What do you mean by that? Samantha?” Ravana asked.

  Samantha grew a tiny grin. Its calmness and soothing transformation gave Ravana distance, and only made him grow more afraid.

  “What else does it implify? This world no longer needs a pest like you to co-exist with us. And I’ll ensure that not only you’ll be cleansed, but enfactuate that your existence be futile, permanently.”

  Her timid, soft soothing tone made him panic, but his joy in seeing her oversighted his fear and he immediately smiled.

  “Please, Samantha! Together, if we unite, we can take over this place. Don’t be so angry at me, I love you and want us to become the ultimate life forms!”

  Samantha soothingly blinked and straightened her head.

  “I’ve heard enough. At this moment, you’re—”

  “Come on, Samantha! Don’t be so cruel, accept me and I’ll—”

  “Alright. Ravana: You don’t belong in this world. You’re no longer needed, you were never a part of this, the events that transpired were no more than an illusion: at that, you’ll part ways and your existence was nothing more than just an afterthought.”

  “Wait what do you—?”

  Ravana’s voice was abruptly cut out. He was gone, all the damage that everyone had caused, the land, the giant tree, and everyones wounds were gone. The vast lands had grass, fields were popping, and normal trees had appeared in the blink of an eye. Leon’s eyes were shaking as he held Sarah closer. Shaman couldn’t believe his eyes too and John was beyond speechless. Samantha didn’t only restore everything back to normal in the blink of an eye, but she had wiped Ravana from existence, which interferes with the natural order of the world. She slowly raised her head to the group and sensed a higher power standing a foot behind her.

  John hyper ventilated and gulped as he saw the man he respects.

  “Wi-William…” he murmured.

  Jack saw the almighty William H. Christ standing behind Samantha, seriously staring at her but with a grin on his face.

  “What-what’s he doing here?” he said.

  Leon kneeled and Sarah was shocked to see her father kneel to him. She remembered the blonde man, his golden beard and golden eyes that menacingly stared at her in her first encounter.

  “It’s that Exsorcist…”

  Samantha shut her eyes and William deeply sighed.

  “To think, my dear, you would do something that drastic just to get my attention?” William said.

  He stepped aside so everyone else could get a better look at him.

  “I’m terribly sorry for barging in out of the bloom. But, this woman here has committed an act not even I could overlook. Not only does this affect the flow of our natural balance, it also interferes with God’s view.”

  John raised his fist and swallowed some more.

  “What she di-did! Did it cause a butterfly effect?!”

  William shook his head.

  “To be honest, my old chap, Johnathan, what she did is far more severe than that. Actually, I’d prefer she caused a butterfly effect and make an alternate timeline from what she did, but…”

  William raised his cane and pointed at Samantha’s back.

  “She not only redid all the events that were fabricated by everyone here, but she redid everything that had to do with her husband, and wiped a man out of existence. Which means, he was never here, never born, not a single trace of his tree was left. He was turned to just a thought that will fade from all of your minds in a week.”

  Samantha’s grin grew smaller as her eyes became subtle.

  “It’s sad really. Unfortunately for you, my darling, you won’t be Exorcised. God won’t forbid it. I must give you a punishment far greater than that, equating to the same you gave the man who once existed just a minute ago.”

  William took a step closer and deeply sighed as he overlooked her shoulder.

  “Your husband, too, will face a punishment I can’t overlook his actions either.”

  Samantha’s eyes popped out of their subtleness while her grin faded.

  “Why him? Why must he be punished as well?” she weakly asked.

  William was now in front center, standing in between the two lines of sights. He stared down at Leon who carefully raised his head up to look at the almighty Exorcist.

  “This man here, and the man who’s responsibility it was to tame the beast inside his soul, have failed. He caused casualties, damage, and made himself known to the world, merely by existing.”

  Leon frowned and nodded in agreement. He got up and stood with his head down.

  “I’m… sorry. Whatever punishment lies ahead of me, I’ll gladly accept it.”

  Sarah feared for her father’s safety and jumped in-between them.

  “Please! Punish me instead in place of my dad. I-I don’t want to see him get hurt anymore…”

  Leon grabbed her shoulders and looked into her sunken eyes.

  “Sarah, it’s okay. I have to take responsibility, not only as a man, but as your father too.”

  “I apologise, but this is what has to be done by the laws set by God himself.”

  Sarah hugged her father and couldn’t accept it.

  “Am I, am I really going to lose both of my parents?”

  “Not all, darling. You’ll only lose just one. Your father’s punishment will be one I’m sure he’d wish to garner a long time ago.”

  Leon furrowed his brows.

  “Whatever it is, I’ll take it.”

  “Hold up!”

  Everyone turned to the voice that had interrupted their session. Standing, menacingly, staring them down was Archard. His golden engraved cap billowed, his fists clenched, he mustered a smile.

  “Before he seeks punishment, I wish to battle one of the strongest alive.” Archard said.

  Sarah’s eyes popped open and hearing his voice alone made her blood boil.

  “That devil’s here.” she murmured.

  “Archard, the terrible. How nice of you to suggest a humbling offer before I meet my maker.” Leon said.

  Samantha’s fingers twitched.

  “Archy.” she whispered.

  Archard heard the voice and frantically glanced around. Everyone was confused as to what he was freaking out about. But, he overcame the sudden disturbance and chuckled.

  “Thought I heard something. Anyways, sorry, Sir William, but will you accept my request?”

  William raised a brow and actually nodded to his idea.

  “Despite pissing me off these few months, you know what, Archard, I’ll allow it.”

  He dramatically stepped to the side and pointed at the two.

  “You two will do battle before Leon’s punishment is laid upon. Which will take place two days from now.”

  As for you, my love, yours will be the day after their battle. William thought.

  Fine, by me, Almighty William H. Christ. Samantha thought.

  I know he can’t see you because you purposely became a very fabric of our world, an idea, a thought in mind to co-exist with reality. A being higher than omnipotence. It’s preposterous you’ve gotten this powerful. I can only imagine just how strong your alternate personality is.

  Samantha stood, quivering her arms.

  There’s only one of you, my love. And I confirmed this as I traveled across alternate times, spaces, worlds, universes, anything beyond the fourth dimension to see if there was a world with another one of you. Unfathomably, your existence sheared across the worlds, and you stayed glazing, eyeing out potential threats to your ambition.

  William smiled and bowed to her. The rest were confused as to why he bowed to Samantha. Archard on the other hand didn’t understand why his master bowed to nothing.

  I can’t wait to meet the final Sin I’ve yet to face…

  William’s smile grew bigger as he brought his face up.

  The strongest Sin to ever exist, the carrier and embodiment of jealousy—

  “See you soon, Witch of Envy, Abyzou.” he mumbled.

  William dissolved into sparkled dust and its fragments drifted away. Archard gazed at Sarah and chuckled as he faded out of reality too. Leon can’t take anymore of the situation and loudly grunts. He wiped his face and couldn’t be bothered to look at his ex wife who stood in silence.

  Samantha’s grin was permanent, and she began walking towards them.

  “I, I apologise for involving you in my mess, Leon.”

  Shaman’s body felt light and he couldn’t control his shaking.

  “We, we thought you perished. That woman with the golden umbrella, didn’t she defeat you?” Shaman said.

  Samantha stopped in front of him and didn’t give him a glance.

  “You can’t defeat what one can’t see.”

  She gently put her hand on his chest and he loudly gasped.

  “Shaman, I suggest you leave and never involve yourself with my family again.”

  He couldn’t control his repeated gasping and began to hallucinate. He clutched his head and stepped away from her. She lowered her hand and moved forward. Standing in front of her ex-husband and daughter, she took a glance at Jack and winked at him.

  She put her finger up and waved it at Jack.

  “We still have a conversation to have. I hope you’re ready, but before we engage in our last encounter, there’s some things I must get off my chest.”

  She put her hand down and inched closer to her family.

  “It’s time you guys know the truth of everything.”

  Leon frowned and brought his gaze to Samantha. He stared deep into her platinum eyes and knit his brows.

  “The nerve of you, Samantha. After all these years? When your maker ends up at our doorstep, you finally decide to tell us—everything?”

  Samantha nodded.

  “Yes, everything.”

  She shifted her head to her daughter and she gently reached for her.

  “Even you’ll find out what the misconception’s about, my adoring seed of life.”

  Sarah grew annoyed by her mother’s presence and averted her gaze.

  “Before we begin, would all of you join me for some coffee and tea? I’m sure you’re all parched and tired from the senseless violence.”

  Jack stepped in and groaned.

  “Lets just cut the shit and use the opportunity you’ve granted us to know everything. And I do mean everything, Samantha.”

  She sighed and snapped her fingers. They were transported back to her home in Leon’s library.

  “You really are something, young man. I…”

  Samantha stared coldly at her daughter and her icy gaze made Sarah freeze in fear. Her silver eyes transitioned into a slow burn, until they eventually revealed the same crimson eyes bestowed upon Sarah.

  “...E-n-v-y, your guys' relationship, Sa-rah.”