Arc II: “Universal Threat”
Chapter II: “Mythical Kaelithian”
Episode VIII: “Juggernaut”
[After the battle at the arena]
Kyte flew through the night without stopping. Dawn finally bled across the horizon when he spotted a lonely green smear of land.
He descended, shouldered through dew-wet brush, and let himself sink onto a bed of moss beneath the forest canopy.
[The next morning – Flashback]
“Hey, look, he’s awake!”
Kyte woke up in the home of a small family to see a young girl standing over his bed.
“Hello there, Mister…?” a woman standing behind the girl said.
“Kyte.”
“Mister Kyte. My daughter found you lying in the woods near our house. Are you okay? What happened?”
“…I’m fine.”
Kyte closed his eyes.
“Actually… I was on Kona Island for the tournament.”
“Really? Were you there during the attack? It’s all over the news!” the girl said.
“Yes.”
“Oh no!”
The woman grabbed Kyte’s hand.
“That’s terrible!”
Kyte tensed. He usually avoided common folk when he could.
As she stepped closer, her gaze snagged on the band around his throat. Hesitant, her hand lifted.
“Is that—?”
Kyte snatched her wrist.
“Forgive me,” she whispered, jolting back.
Sensing that she was fearful of him, Kyte softened his face.
“It’s a slave collar. It’s meant to restrain me,” he said, guiding her palm to the rim of cold metal.
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“Why would someone ever need to do that?” the girl asked.
Her face looked so sad that it made Kyte feel guilty.
“I’m strong… People want that strength, so they use this to force me to fight for them.”
The mother managed a warm, stubborn smile.
“Well, don’t worry. As long as you’re here, you don’t have to fight anymore.”
She cupped his cheek.
“Let me go get you some food.”
She stood up and took her daughter’s hand.
“Come on, Marie. Let’s go get Mr. Kyte something to eat.”
“Okayyy~.”
They hurried out.
By the time they returned, the bed was cold and empty.
[Earlier today]
Kyte settled onto a rocky bluff facing the open sky.
I just need somewhere isolated to bide my time until Ronin and the others come for me.
Clouds drifted like torn silk above.
“Where are you… brother?”
[Now]
Leo’s gravity still pressed on Kyte’s movements, turning air to iron.
Draig, now fully healed, agreed to fight as a team. He and Asuka rejoined, weaving around Kyte with Leo and Malek.
They closed in, disciplined and relentless.
In the storm of motion, Kyte’s eyes slid shut for a heartbeat. He thought of the woman he met the other day and her daughter. Unguarded souls, untainted by blood and greed.
He ached for a life like theirs… and for the brother torn from him at birth.
“RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
His aether detonated—blue, violet, and green streams raked the air; ozone burned the nose.
“This isn’t good!” Asuka called. “He’s climbing again!”
Everyone was already at their full power, but Kyte was just getting started.
“Juggernaut Drive!”
His pupils blew out into pale nothing as his energy surged.
The pressure wave alone hurled Asuka headfirst into a jag of stone; she crumpled, unconscious.
“Asuka!” Leo shouted.
Then Kyte rushed at him. He loomed over Leo like a titan, smoke coiling from his lips, eyes feral-bright.
…Shit.
One punch— Leo’s Dominion buckled, his Edict of Burden wavering.
Malek watched, eyes bulging out.
Dammit! He took out our healer and our heaviest fighter in just a few seconds!
But it’s not over! Draig and I still have powerful attacks! If he can hit Kyte with his Hellfire, we still might be able to win.
“Draig! Listen closely! We’re going to have to coordinate in order to beat this guy!”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I’ll draw his attention, so just hit him with your best move!”
“Right!”
Here goes! Draig thought as he rushed at Kyte.
Kyte stood there staring him down.
When Draig met those eyes, a cold flash washed his spine; his limbs wanted to lock in place.
Dammit!
He bit down hard, the taste of iron flooding his tongue.
“Hellfire!”
He Aether-Skipped directly in front of Kyte— palms planting on his chest as red fury roared point-blank.
“It’s pointless,” Kyte said, aura flaring. “AHHHHH!”
The blast folded under the shockwave; Draig skidded backward through trenches of molten silica.
“You’re wide open!” Malek shouted as he appeared behind him.
“Six Deep Valleys!”
Chains of blazing script erupted, snaring limbs and dragging Kyte into the island’s crust.
“Quickly! Draig!”
“Right!”
The two of them stood together and gathered every last drop of aether in their bodies.
Kyte easily broke out of the seal, but the delay was more than enough time.
“Hellfire!”
Draig clasped his hands together, the laser of searing heat rocketing out of his grasp.
“One Vibrant Sun!”
Malek launched a giant orb attack in the form of a supernova.
Combined with Draig’s Hellfire, a red cataclysm formed like a newborn star.
“Vibrant Hell Sun!” They yelled in unison.
Kyte, who was still escaping the seal, tried to brace for impact.
BOOM!
Heat slapped their faces and clung, sticky as tar.
They waited, breathing scorched salt and vaporized earth…
No way… they both thought.
Amidst the fiery slag and molten rock, a silhouette rose from the crater’s throat— unmarred.
Even the flames of Hellfire, which should have gnawed forever, curled around him like a lukewarm blanket and died.
Their faces paled.
With their Flows gutted and their aether unstable— Draig’s Dragon Drive sputtered out, and Malek’s Sun God Mode diminished to orange ash.
Kyte finished them in heartbeats.
[The sky above the island]
“I think this is the one!” Lian shouted.
“Alright. This is where you stop,” Zane said, gripping Lian’s shoulder. “We can’t have you catching a stray.”
“But what if they need someone to heal them?”
“Don’t worry, they’ve got Asuka… and you’re drained. We’ll cover it.”
Zane, Rayon, and Darc continued to the island while Lian stayed behind.
“Alright, let’s go back them up!” Zane shouted.
“Right!” Rayon and Darc yelled.
[Next Time on Lyte of Utopia]: “Juggernaut II”
[Yield Levels]:
Kyte: 5t
- SR: (LBMSR) + GS: (+): 500qd
- SR: (LBMSR) + JD + GS: (+): 500qt
- SR: (LBMSR) + JD: 5sx
Leo: 10t
- T4 + THB: 200qd
Malek: 800m
- SGM + THB + SHM + F + HS: 16qd
- Six Deep Valleys: x100 (Sealing)
- One Vibrant Sun: x1000
Draig: 10t
- SA + DD + THB: 20qd
- Hellfire: x1000
Asuka: 1t
- SA + DBF + THB: 1qd
- Unconscious: 5
Zane: 3b
- Aether Resurgence: Blossom (Full): 30b
Rayon: 1b
- Aether Resurgence: Blossom (Full): 10t
Darc: 100m
- Aether Resurgence: Blossom (Full): 1t
Lian: 40b
- Weakened: 40,000
Malek + Draig:
- Vibrant Hell Sun = 36sx