Arc II: “Universal Threat”
Chapter III: “Gang War”
Episode X: “Two vs. Two! Akira And Rikito Unite!”
Suddenly, Kyte’s eyes snapped open—gold energy flaring as he parried the beam. He flashed behind Bed in a blurring, lime-gold afterimage.
“W-what!?” Bed whirled, panic spiking. How did he get there so fast!?
Kyte stared at his hands, light pooling in his palms. Is this…really me?
“Yes. You’ve been blessed with a gift far surpassing those of other Utopians. As such, it is your duty to use that power to protect those who are less fortunate than you! Show them your power, Kyte!”
“Right!! HAAA!” Kyte powered up, unleashing massive amounts of energy.
“Where’s he getting all this strength from? I thought he was drained from his previous battles…” Leo pondered.
“Neo Utopian!”
Gold aether shot like a geyser from his pores; the scent of hot metal hit the air.
H-his wounds are healing! That’s Utopian energy! Bed hesitated and took a step back.
“What’s wrong? Scared?” Kyte said confidently.
“N-never! I’ll show you why I’m the strongest! RAAAGH!”
Bed’s collar turned red as the serum rushed into his body.
“Deadly Frame!”
Bed unleashed a large mouth beam at Kyte.
“Hmph…” Kyte closed his eyes. I can hear the whisper… Celestial Rend… Mighty Canticle: “Legend… STAR DESTROYER!”
Kyte unleashed a green beam with the cadence of Akira’s signature technique.
The beams crashed and groaned—Kyte’s green overtook the red in a grinding swell.
“HA!” Kyte powered up, further increasing his output.
“I-impossible!”
Kyte easily overpowered Bed, blasting him away.
“AHHHHHH!”
Bed’s silhouette disintegrated in the glare—then nothing but drifting ash.
“Brother…” Kyte muttered before he collapsed.
“Kyte!” Leo ran over to him.
[Akira and Rikito vs. Ronin and Hikari]
“We have to do something… Rikito!”
“I know!” They both grunted as they slowly picked themselves up from the ground.
“This is almost sad. You’re severely outclassed, but against anyone else, you might’ve gotten mercy. Too bad—I plan to make you suffer! AHAHA!”
“Shut up already!” Akira said once he was back on his feet.
Ronin stopped laughing and slowly looked at Akira.
“Hmph…” Ronin spat—then lanced Akira’s thigh with a needle-thin beam.
“AH!” Akira fell to the ground, tightly clutching his leg.
“HAHAHA, that’s more like it! Be a good boy and keep quiet while you’re groveling! AHAHA!”
He fired more lasers at Akira.
“Y-you bastard!” Rikito stumbled up to his feet.
“Pallium Noctis: Black Lightning Cloak!”
He surrounded himself in a layer of black lightning and then dashed towards Ronin at breakneck speed.
Hikari intercepted him, knocking him back with a kick.
“Argh!” Rikito flew into a boulder.
“Good work, Hikari! Hell, I guess I have a new second in command!” Ronin continued laughing.
“Utopic Edict: Blessed Kiss: Infinite Regenerations!” Green light flowered under Akira’s skin; torn muscle knit itself back together.
“Hmph? What is that?” Ronin questioned.
“I’ll show you!” Akira blitzed in a Dragon Flash. “Utopic Edict—DEUS FRACTURE: GOD BREAKER!”
His fist detonated blue against Ronin’s ribs.
“BOUARGH!” Ronin coughed up blood from Akira’s attack.
Hikari tried to attack him, but Akira teleported back, revealing Rikito behind him.
“Oblivion Break! Sovereign Cataclysm: DARK ABYSSAL CANNON!”
He blasted Hikari into the air.
Akira teleported above Hikari.
“Celestial Rend: Aureate Starfall… STARDUST DESTROYER!”
Akira unleashed a great sparkling beam of gold that blasted Hikari into the depths of the planet. The blast bored a glass-walled cylinder through half the island; steam screamed from the new wound.
“Are you crazy? You could’ve destroyed the whole planet with that attack!” Rikito scolded Akira.
“My bad, heh,” Akira said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Damn you! Supreme Inquest: Azra’s Light!”
Ronin formed a ring of runes over his shoulder and fired a beam at them.
“Alright… one more! Stardust Destroyer!” Akira’s gold tore Ronin’s beam in half—their shock fronts rippled the clouds.
Shit… how much longer, Spirit? I’m almost out of strength here!
Hikari Aether-Skipped above the two of them and knocked them both to the ground.
“Coronation Pyre: Wrath of Azra!” Ronin fired a large fireball at them while they were still recovering.
“Grab on to me, Rikito!”
“Huh?”
“Just do it!!”
Rikito grabbed him just before the fireball hit.
“Dragon Shift!”
Space jittered; they snapped from inferno to the steel corridors of the Phantom in a blink. They both powered down, panting and desperate to recover energy.
“What are we going to do? They’re both insane! I don’t think our attacks even left much of a mark on them.”
“I… don’t know.” Rikito clenched his teeth.
“There is a way.” The Spirit said from within Akira’s being.
“What!?”
“What?” Rikito asked.
“The Spirit… is talking to me.”
“There is one way for the two of you to beat Ronin and Hikari.”
“It says… there’s a way we can beat them!”
“Really? Well, hurry up and spit it out!”
“Just wait for a second, would ya?”
So, what is it, Spirit? How can we beat them?
“There was once a technique used by ancient Utopians… that allowed them to surpass their limits and overcome any foes. Convergence.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Convergence—?
“Utopic Convergence. It’s different from the Duality Bonding that you may know of. This technique is much more potent. But it also requires focus and control. You must trust in your own strength and the strength of your partner, over all other odds.”
Okay… that’s cool and all, but we need something fast. Ronin isn’t going to wait for us to figure this out!
“Worry not, chosen one. The method is simple—dangerously so. Listen closely.”
Yeah?
“Both partners must focus their Utopic aether from within. Then you must maintain contact as you pour your energies into each other. Once your flows have balanced, the ritual will be complete.”
“Did you get all that, Rikito?”
“Y-yeah…” Rikito blinked. What does it mean by ‘maintaining contact’?
[Outside the ship]
“Come out, come out wherever you are, savage-bloods!”
Ronin flew into the air and started firing lasers around the island, destroying the terrain.
“You should really learn to control that nasty temper,” a mysterious voice said.
“W-what!? Who said that?” Ronin turned around, startled. Why can’t I sense their energy?
“Hey. Did you miss me? Or should I say, us?” The mysterious man playfully pondered in front of Ronin.
“Who are you? What happened to those two vermin?”
“Those two vermin… are right here! Behold!”
The man started posing.
“Name’s Akito. Akira and Rikito—one will, one fist. We’re here to beat your ass.”
“W-what?” Ronin was visibly confused.
“Hm… maybe he’s confused.” Akito scratched his head. “Alright, I’ll just show you.” Akito stretched his arms and legs midair.
Who does this guy think he is?
Akito finished stretching.
“Right! Here goes!” Akito got up and flashed past Ronin.
H-huh!?
“Oh, whoops, guess I’m not used to this speed yet.”
How did he do that? Is he really that powerful if I can’t even sense him?
Akito looked down at his hands and squeezed them. “Okay, this time I’ve got it!”
This guy is trouble! Ronin spun frantically.
Akito blitzed Ronin, landing a full barrage of hits before Ronin could process what happened.
Red static surged from Hikari’s collar.
I need to help him immediately!
Hikari flew into the air to join the fight.
Akito saw him coming from a mile away. He knocked Ronin to the ground, then dropkicked Hikari. He instantly descended and then flew towards Hikari, blowing him back with punches.
Ronin joined in too, but even then, Akito was still able to hold them both off.
“This is too easy. What happened to all that power you guys were boasting about before?”
“Damn you!” Ronin flew back. “I’ll show you something so amazing that you’ll have no choice but to let it hit you!”
Ronin threw his arms over his head as he soared into the sky.
A mass of blue fire illuminated the darkening horizon. The clouds themselves burnt into blazing flames of gas.
The heat could be seen in the air, waves of pressure emanating from the sky.
“Azra Theurgy: Final Adjudication! AZRA’S JUDGEMENT!”
Ronin created an orb of energy that made his previous attacks look ant-sized. Then he compressed all the energy into a small, high-density orb. He hurled it swiftly at Akito.
“You’re right! That is an interesting attack. Too bad it won’t be enough to stop me.”
Akito transformed with Perfect Spirit Resonance, an effortless blanket of creamy white aura encompassing him.
“Twilight Vector… Duskborne Horizon: BLACK STARDUST CANNON!!”
Akito fired a dark, sparkling beam that easily destroyed Ronin’s compressed orb.
Hikari flew in between the beam and Ronin to try and protect him.
“Aegis Rite—Knight’s Cuirass!”
It was no use. The beam destroyed his armor and blasted straight through Hikari and Ronin.
“Hmph. Well, I guess this fight is over.” Akito crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “Wish I could’ve enjoyed that a little longer.”
“Not yet!” Ronin appeared from the smoke.
He was holding Hikari’s arm even though he was unconscious.
“Get up!” He threw him onto the ground.
“Argh!” Hikari’s collar flooded with red fluid. He scratched at his neck, drawing blood. Sweat ran down his face as his eyes swelled and his veins pulsated. His entire body convulsed inorganically.
“Hehehe. Let me show you why I’m called the greatest assassin in the universe!” Ronin’s eyes were drowned out in black. “I’ll show you… my skills!”
Ronin bled into smoke—then wasn’t there at all.
He’s gone? I can’t sense him either… this isn’t the same wavelength as Divine Aether!
Ronin reappeared in Akito’s blind spot. His fingers glowed red as he hit Akito’s pressure points.
“Ugh!” Akito backed away once he realized Ronin was there. Dammit.
Hikari flew up behind him.
“Ha!” Akito turned around and elbowed him to the ground.
As soon as he did, Ronin vanished again, fading into misty black vapor.
Again? How can I counter this?
Akito’s aura flared to a screaming white; grit skittered away in rings, repelling the unseen hit.
“Argh!” Ronin reappeared after being blown back by his energy.
“There you are!” Akito Dragon Flashed behind him. “GOD BREAKER!”
Akito connected another powerful attack on Ronin.
“It’s over!”
Akito accumulated high levels of energy, the ground trembling as the aether ruptured through space.
“Twilight Vector… Eschaton Nexus: Chaos… BREAKER!”
Akito was about to unleash a massive attack, but the Convergence came undone.
“W-what!?” Rikito yelled. “What happened!?”
“I-I don’t know!?” Akira was flustered. All my Utopic aether is gone… is this a side effect of Convergence? Hey spirit! What happened!
“Yes… Convergence carries a dire limit. Normally, both parties are able to maintain their Utopic aether without consequence. However, your Convergence was more powerful than I anticipated, which seems to have heightened the cost of flow.”
Damn… now what!?
“It’s not over! Here, I have a gift for you.”
The Spirit gave Akira the energy that it managed to accumulate.
“With this…” Akira smirked. “I can beat them myself!”
Akira transformed into his Utopic Spirit Resonance, his hair and aura tinting gold as aether surged around him. Then, his eyes turned a full sheen of gold, neon yellow highlights illuminating as eyeshadow. This was the power of Akira’s ‘God of Utopia’ state, the full power of the Utopic Force on display.
“Can’t forget this either… Golden Energy Mode, Layer One Hundred! I’m pulling out all the stops!” Akira turned to his side. “Rikito!”
“What?”
“I know your Utopic powers must be used up, too. So, just in case I can’t finish this on my own, I need you to stay back and recover your strength.”
“I’m not worried, Akira. I’ll come save you before you die.” Rikito flew back towards the ship.
“Heh. Alright… here goes nothing!”
Akira dashed towards Hikari.
They clashed. Hikari’s serum was running out, so Akira was able to keep up with him.
Until—Ronin appeared behind him and struck his vital points. Akira teleported away to create distance.
Dammit—Ronin keeps tagging my vitals… Akira felt his hands going numb. It seems like his technique is preventing me from controlling my meridians properly… that’s especially dangerous since I have to maintain so many techniques and forms at once… Akira looked up and quickly dodged Hikari’s attack.
Hikari and Ronin started putting pressure on Akira, but he was able to hold them evenly.
How long will I be able to keep this up?
“Verse of Stellar Fracture: Star Breaker!”
Akira blasted Hikari, but he blocked it with his armor.
“Damn.”
Akira started flying around to avoid their attacks.
I don’t think I have enough flow to use another powerful art on top of maintaining my forms.
“This is it then! I’ll show you something special since this is my last one!”
Akira dropped to the ground and took up his stance. Ronin faded invisible again.
“Draconic Kata Verse… Draconic Liturgy: Dragon Festival!”
Akira created numerous golden astral dragons that flew out from his body.
What is that!? Ronin wondered. He was still invisible, yet the dragons started following him. What!? How can they tell where I am?
“This is a special technique that I learned from the Spirit! It can resonate with the very souls of my targets. You might be able to hide your presence and your aether signature, but you can’t hide the essence of your soul.”
The dragons wrapped themselves around Hikari and Ronin. Ronin’s body became visible again.
Interesting… whenever he touches something, his invisibility wears off. And now he can’t attack while my dragons seal his arts.
“And now! My greatest technique yet! Chant: Dragon Force!” Akira unleashed a wave of pure, formless energy.
Ronin struggled in the serpents’ grasp. I can’t move… and Hikari isn’t using his shield either. These dragons must be blocking our techniques.
Right before the energy wave hit them, the dragons dissipated.
It wore off!
“Dammit!” Akira gritted his teeth. My technique is still flawed!
“Knight’s Cuirass!” Hikari formed armor around the two of them, ready to block the attack.
“Chaos Bringer!” Rikito powered up and fired his ultimate attack at their shield. His swift attack broke through the shield before Akira’s attack hit.
“Impossible!” Ronin yelled.
There was a massive explosion.
“Now it should really be over…” Akira said. He was completely out of stamina and undid his forms before his body was destroyed.
“Not yet…” Once again, Ronin was still standing after the smoke cleared.
“H-how!” Akira was startled.
“…These collars are wonderful things, they are… they could even make someone as virtuous as Hikari give his life to protect me.”
Ronin looked down at Hikari’s body on the ground.
“He still managed to put up another shield to protect me before your attack hit… at the sake of his own life. What a shame that such a valiant man had to die for scum like me… that’s what you must be thinking, right?”
Ronin looked up at Akira, who had pain in his eyes.
“I couldn’t care less,” Akira said sternly, his brows trembling. “I’m just doing this to protect my friends!”
One last push! Soul Resonance: Perfect Spirit Resonance!
The calming flow of white aether emerged around Akira.
Rikito is down for the count… but so is Hikari. Now it’s just me and Ronin. I can tell he’s suffered a lot of damage, too.
The two of them clashed. Their strengths and speeds were greatly diminished compared to those of earlier in the battle.
“I’m surprised you can still keep up! You’re looking pretty beat up over there!” Akira teased.
“Speak for yourself!”
The two of them continued exchanging blows for minutes on end. Finally, they both backed away, panting.
I’m going to kill this savage-blood with my next attack…
“HA!” Ronin fired two aether blasts at Akira, then Aether-Skipped behind him.
Akira easily deflected the blasts, then he turned around, anticipating Ronin’s next attack.
“Too bad! I’m over here!”
Ronin used another one of his assassination techniques, True Mirage. He was still in his original position, now placing him behind Akira.
“Coronation Pyre: Wrath of Azra!”
He launched a fireball at Akira from close range.
Dammit!
Akira caught the blast with his bare hands, searing them in the process.
“AHHRGH!” He grimaced while holding it back, but he didn’t give up. “Utopic Edict! Astra Eidolon Array: Astral Clones!”
Two ethereal projections split from Akira’s body, taking a perfect copy of his appearance. One of them helped Akira hold the attack back while the other one fought with Ronin, stopping him from interfering.
“HAAA!” Akira used Golden Energy Mode: Layer One Hundred. Rings of gold aura locked around him, and the fireball skidded back on his palms.
Then he blitzed Ronin with his two clones.
“Draconic Kata Verse! Serpent’s Skip: Triple Dragon Flash!”
The three of them flashed around Ronin, continuously attacking his blind spots and catching him off guard.
“Now, Sextupled Serpent Dance: Triple Dragon Combination!”
His clones combo’d Ronin and knocked him into the air, allowing Akira to rise up and hammer him into the ground.
Ronin used his assassination technique again, hitting the clones in their vital spots, destroying them each in one hit.
Akira feinted low, anticipating an approach; Ronin vanished into his True Mirage—then reappeared at Akira’s seven o’clock.
“Vital Puncture,” Ronin hummed as his poised fingers stuck Akira’s meridians.
Akira’s elbow snapped back; the strike glanced, but nerves fizzed as a pressure point lit. He answered back with a burst, using Dragon Flash to close the distance—palm-heel driving Ronin into a shattered rock formation.
Ronin skated along the rubble and dissolved.
Silent Step.
Akira seeded the air with lingering motes from Dragon Festival—the astral embers spread around him in a circle.
Akira’s eyes shot from side to side, eager to catch the faintest trace—
Then it happened, light from the runes bent toward a moving void.
Akira pivoted into its path.
“Verse of Stellar Fracture: Star Breaker!”
From close range, the gold lance skimmed Ronin’s shoulder and peeled blue flame. But Ronin had a counter ready to lash out:
“Azra’s Light!”
He jumped to the side, and his fiery beams snapped onto Akira’s position.
Akira crossed his arms to block, forearms smoking, then blurred forward—
“Deus Fracture: GOD BREAKER!!”
The body-shot cratered the ground; Ronin corkscrewed away, boots carving trenches before he caught himself and bared his teeth.
This damn savage-blood!
He peeled his eyes off Akira, staring down at the bloodied palms below him.
To think I could be pushed this far! There shouldn’t be anyone else on my level in this Universe other than Hikari!
“Dammit!” Ronin hunched over, slamming his fist into the dirt.
“What’s wrong? Finally realize that it’s over for you?” Akira smirked, his skin glistening from his white glow.
“Silence, vermin.” I’ll show him… Ronin stood slowly, gripping his fists. “Perish!!”
A dazzling blue light formed from his hands, pointed straight at Akira.
“Azra Theurgy: Supreme Inquest!”
“Celestial Rend: Aureate Starfall!”
Golden sparkles were born all around Akira. He crouched into his stance, slow and deliberate. All the sparkles of aether were siphoned into his palms. He dragged his hands behind himself as he cradled the golden light that was manifesting.
“Azra’s Light!”
“Stardust… Destroyer!”
The two of their attacks clashed together; sparkling, heavenly light met blue flames of incineration.
The force of their energies toppled mountains and rock formations, creating immense winds that tumbled through the sea.
Everyone could see the beautiful spectacle of shining lights that drowned the island—
But it was over.
Ronin was no match for the yield of Akira’s art.
“AHH!”
Ronin was knocked back in an abrupt shock as the flow of his aether sputtered out. He collapsed; his body splayed out like a fresh corpse.
The sound of slow, wet footsteps grinding against the sand was all he could hear through the ringing in his head.
“Hngh…” he grunted, his body twitching as he tried to move.
Akira stood over him, his fists gripped tightly and his gaze razor sharp.
Ronin spat blood on Akira’s feet. “Just finish me already…”
“No. First, you’re going to tell me where Sikira’s sister is.”
“Sikira’s sister? You mean that worrisome girl, Torra? Hahahaha!” Ronin coughed, raspy. “… she’s dead! Long dead!”
Akira glared at him. “Don’t lie to me!” Akira grabbed his neck, hanging him up in the air.
“It’s the truth…” he rasped. “She died a long time ago… and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
Akira dropped him.
“Hehehe! And it’s over for you too!”
“What?”
“I may be the leader of the A.S.S. Gang… but we’re just a small part of a bigger network! Who do you think buys the planets and people we capture? My superiors are coming for you, Akira! They wanted me to kill you as revenge for Apocalypse, but I had different plans for you! With you as my slave, we could have ruled the Universe!”
With wide eyes, Ronin reached up towards the sky.
Akira blasted him, finishing him off.
“Be quiet...”
[Intermission]
With that, it was over.
The UFA and Cosmic Guard defeated the A.S.S. Gang. All the criminals who were still alive were taken into custody. Their spaceship was also recovered and placed in the Cosmic Guard’s possession.
Kyte and Sikira were pardoned after their situations were explained, and they gave valuable information to the Cosmic Guard. It certainly helped to have the UFA’s hero vouch for them.
A ceremony was held to honor Hikari and Malek, as well as all the other martial artists, officers, and guards who gave up their lives.
Soon after, Akira, Asuka, and Kyte departed to search for the ruins of planet Utopia.
Rikito and Sikira each set off on their own road through the stars.
Draig was escorted by Riella back to his home, just a few planets away.
Zane, Lian, Rayon, and Darc continued watching over the Earth.
Until now…
[Next Time on Lyte of Utopia]: “Next Gen”
[Yield Levels]:
Akira: 20t
- SR: (USR) + DP + UP + GEML100: 2oct
- SR: (USR) + DP + GoU + GEML100: 2non
- SR: (PSR) + DP: 20qt
- SR: (PSR) + DP + GEML100: 2sx
- Dragon Force: x1qd
- Dragon Flash: (Blitz)
- Dragon Shift: (Teleportation)
- Dragon Combination: x1.5
- Draconic Fury: x100
- Utopic Dragon Star Breaker: x30,000
- Star Breaker: x1000
- Utopic Star Breaker: x10,000
- Infinite Regenerations: (Regeneration)
- God Breaker: x1b
- Stardust Destroyer: x1m
- Dragon Festival: x1000 (Nullify / Sealing)
- Astral Clones: x2 / #
Rikito: 100t
- SR: (DeSR) + DBF + DeF: 500sp
- SR: (DeSR) + DBF + DeF + BLC: 5oct
- Dark Abyssal Cannon: x500
- Chaos Bringer: x1m
Hikari: 1non
- Suppressed: 1oct
- Knight’s Cuirass: x1m
- Lancer’s Spearline: x1000
Ronin: 1non
- Weakened: 850qt
- Wrath of Azra: x1m
- Azra’s Light: x1000
- Azra’s Judgement: x5z
- True Mirage: (Mirage)
- Silent Step: (Invisibility)
- Vital Puncture: (Piercing)
Kyte: 5qd
- SR: (LBMSR): 5sx
- SR: (LBMSR) + JD: 5sp
- SR: (LBMSR) + JD + BU: 50sp
- SR: (LBMSR) + JD + NU: 500sp
- Legend Star Destroyer: x300
Bed: 20sx
- SS: 20sp
- SS + D: 200sp
- Deadly Frame: x100
Akito: 2oct
- DP: 2non
- DP + SR: (PSR): 2 decillions
- Black Stardust Cannon: x1qd
- Chaos Breaker: x1non