Arc III: “Return of Darkness”
Chapter I: “Dark Army”
Episode IX: “Leo vs. Sink and Filter”
After unleashing his Seventh Threshold, Leo clashed with Sink and Filter, the new orange doping serum pulsing through their veins.
These guys are no joke! They aren’t even breaking a sweat while I’m really trying my hardest here. “Alright… if that’s how it’s going to be… then I’ll just unleash my true power!”
“Here it comes,” Sink whispered.
“Eighth Threshold: Ascension!”
Leo’s angelic aura and halo condensed into a white orb before his chest. Streams of aether flowed out from the orb as he closed his eyes; the energy tattooing his skin in glowing white sigils. As the blinding white overwhelmed all those who watched, space seemed to bend around him. His body was nothing but a black silhouette, his hair flowing upwards from the pressure of dense aether. Once the light stopped shining, the sigils glowed softly as a coat of white aether hugged his frame.
“There it is! Your infamous Eighth Threshold!” Sink said.
“Really? It looks just like his natural state to me,” Filter scratched his head.
“You idiot. Look at those markings on his skin,” Sink bonked him on the back of the head, then turned back to face Leo, her smile widening. “I’m honored that you felt the need to use it against us… so in return, we’ll show you something special as well!”
The two of them backed up and started transforming, a crimson-black corona rising from their bodies.
They can use the Third Demon Form? I’ve heard from Akira that only Apocalypse and his first son were able to use it! Not even Rikito could!
“Superior Dark Saber!” Filter let loose a black, saw-toothed ray.
“Multi-Shot Saber!” Sink fired needle-sized lances, all of them spiraling after Leo.
The small blasts continued tracking Leo as he dodged the beam, but then Filter adjusted his aim to track him as well.
Shit… “Gravity Crush!” Leo clenched his fist out before him.
A pocket of space formed a dimple, then popped, staggering their footwork so their arts lost stability.
As Leo turned to counterattack, the captains and soldiers intercepted.
“Dammit…” I don’t have much in the way of crowd control… unless… “This will drain my energy quickly… but it’s a sacrifice I’ll have to make!”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Filter! Be careful, something big is coming!”
“R-right!” What could sis be worried about? We have this in the bag. The Dark Heart provides us with immortality and infinite energy.
“Pillar of Crius: Increase!”
The spherical barrier shuddered as Leo raised the localized force of gravity. Everyone’s knees buckled as the air weighed down like lead.
“W-what is this!?” Filter panicked.
“Edict Mercy: Decrease!” He drew a compact orb of his own energy to his chest, lightening his individual load.
“How are we supposed to fight this!?” Filter yelled.
“Stay calm, you idiot!” Sink smacked him on the back of the head. “Sheesh, I told you Leo would have something up his sleeve…” she whispered. “It isn’t hopeless yet,” she snapped. “Let’s unleash the power that our mother gave us… the power of the Dark Heart!”
“You’re right, we can still win this!”
The soldiers and captains that Leo killed regenerated and came back to life, their ashes rethreading into flesh.
How much longer will I have to fight these guys? Will this really last forever?
“HAAA!” The siblings shouted as they unleashed a massive amount of energy.
“That’s dangerous…” I can’t keep prolonging this fight! I should end this while I still can… “Haaah…” Leo gathered a large amount of energy into his hand.
“Filter! Unleash all your power right now!”
“R-right!”
“Twin Superior Dark Sabers!” They launched twin beams that merged mid-flight.
Leo grounded aether into his palm, pressure hissing at the edges. A rim-bright disk formed, edges shearing the air.
“Dominion of Gravitas: Halo of Crius: Gravity… DISK!”
The disk fed on the barrier’s lattice like a black hole; stress fractures ran through the sphere as it crumbled.
Once the disk met the beam, the entire barrier imploded, shockwaves scouring the sky. Sink and Filter pinwheeled apart, hands missing by inches.
“S-sister!”
“Filter!!”
Everything went black. White motes of aether sifted down like snow.
“Is it over?” Leo said, panting. I can’t sense them… “Dammit, those techniques burn too much aether.”
Leo raised a trembling hand, fingers jittering as he fought to flex them.
Shit…
[A Sky Island – Northern Region]
“Hey, are you sure we should’ve gone through that portal?” Kyoto asked.
“You’re the one who said you wanted to take care of these guys quickly,” Reito replied.
“Alright… but if we run into something dangerous and you get scared, don’t blame me.”
“Shut up, idiot.”
The two of them walked through the halls of a large, abandoned temple.
“Welcome, my nephews.”
The voice materialized behind them. They both jolted, shocked that their aether-sensing had failed them.
A tall man was standing in the shadows of the hall. He wore black robes that hung long onto the ground. He kept his eyes closed and his arms inside the folds of the robe.
The boys jumped back.
Skeptical, Kyoto snapped into his stance.
I didn’t even sense this guy! Reito slanted a glance at Kyoto’s face. Judging from his reaction, neither did he. “Nephews? We don’t know you,” he said flatly.
“Hm… what a shame. Your parents probably don’t know about me either, so I can’t really blame you. Then, I suppose I’ll educate you…” He stepped forward. “You see, your parents, Rikito and Asuka, are somewhat like my older siblings. They were Apocalypse’s fourth and fifth children, and even though they aren’t pure Dystopian, they still have great potential. Our mother would love for them to rejoin us…” He opened his eyes slowly. “The two of you can join us, too. It’s hard to find Dystopians with our level of strength these days.”
He continued walking towards them.
“Yeah, right. As if we’d just join you that easily,” Reito said.
The two of them kept inching back.
“Is that so? Then you leave me no choice.” He shrugged the robe from his shoulders; the upper half slumped at his waist. “You’ll just have to die.”
In a blink, he Aether-Skipped—the floor buckling in his wake.
[Next Time on Lyte of Utopia]: “The First Admiral, Head!”
[Yield Levels]:
Leo: 10qd
- T7: 10sp
- T8: 10oct
- T8 + Gravity Shift (Grade V): (-): 1dec
- Gravity Crush: x200
- Gravity Disk: x1qd
- Pillar of Crius (Grade V): /100,000 (AoE Debuff)
Filter: 1sx
- OD: 100sx
- OD + DFL3: 10sp
- OD + DFL3 + GS (GV): (+): 100qt
- OD + DFL3 + Dark Heart Boost + GS (GV): (+): 100sx
- Superior Dark Saber: x1000
- Twin Superior Dark Saber: x1m
Sink: 10sx
- OD: 1sn
- OD + DFL3: 100sp
- OD + DFL3 + GS (GV): (+): 1sx
- OD + DFL3 + GS (GV): (+) + DHB: 1sp
- Multi-Shot Saber: x10 / #
- Twin Superior Dark Saber: x1m
Third Captain: 1qt
- OD + DFL2: 1sx
- OD + DFL2 + GS (GV): (+): 10qd
Second Captain: 10qt
- OD + DFL2: 10sx
- OD + DFL2 + GS (GV): (+): 100qd
Fifth Captain: 10qd
- OD + DFL2: 10qt
- OD + DFL2 + GS (GV): (+): 100t
Soldiers: 1-50t
- DFL1: 2.5-125t
- DFL1 + GS (GV): (+): 25m – 1.25b
Experimental Soldiers: 51 – 100t
- Orange Doping: 5.1 – 10qd
- OD + GS (GV): (+): 51b – 100b
Kyoto: 280t
- Aether Resurgence: (Surge): 350t
Reito: 250t
- Mysterious Energy Absorbed: 300t
Head: 100sx
- Suppressed: 5