Arc III: “Return of Darkness”
Chapter II: “Lady Soap”
Episode IX: “Revenge of the Dark Prince”
Apocalypse reached for Akira’s chest, dark aether coiling around his fingers as he prepared to tear the Spirit of Utopia free.
Then—
An instinct screamed.
He recoiled, leaping backward as a crushing wave of bloodlust pressed down on the battlefield.
What… is that?
“You fool,” a voice said coldly from above.
A man cloaked in darkness descended between Apocalypse and Akira, his presence sharp—silent, yet suffocating.
“Who are you?” Apocalypse demanded.
The man ignored him. He knelt beside Akira instead, placing a hand over his chest. Black lightning surged—controlled, precise—forcing Akira’s body to convulse as his Flow stabilized.
“How could you lose to a bastard like him of all people?” the man muttered. “Get up, Akira.”
The shadows peeled back.
Apocalypse’s eyes widened as he finally took in the pair standing over Akira—a man and a woman, both radiating with a hostile calmness. I don’t recognize them…
Cataline squinted. Her breath caught. “That man…” Her eyes snapped wide. “Yes. It’s him. It’s Rikito.”
Apocalypse smiled slowly. “I see… you’ve grown well, Rikito.”
“I don’t need to hear that from you,” Rikito said flatly, rising to his feet.
He didn’t look at Apocalypse when he spoke next.
“Sikira. Take that fool and leave.”
Sikira nodded immediately. “Don’t lose.”
Rikito scoffed. “As if I could.”
Akira’s eyes fluttered open. “R-Rikito…?”
Sikira lifted him effortlessly. “Easy now. You alright?”
“Y-yeah… I just need a minute to recover,” Akira rasped. “Rikito, be careful. These aren’t any ordinary opponents.”
Rikito crossed his arms, eyes fixed forward. “I know exactly what I’m dealing with. This time, I get to deal with this bastard myself,” Rikito smirked. I'll finish it. I’ll avenge my mother by killing these bastards!
Apocalypse sighed as he raised a hand, palm open. “I would rather not fight you, Rikito. You are my son. You have the right to inherit everything I am. Join me—you needn’t side yourself with that Utopian scum.” He extended his hand out to Rikito.
Rikito laughed—short, humorless. “Spare me your bullshit. Don’t insult me.”
He jabbed a thumb into his chest. “I don’t fight for Utopians. And I don’t fight for Dystopians either. I fight for myself.”
His gaze hardened. “And there is no world where I kneel to trash like you.”
Sikira took Akira and flew away from the fight.
Watch closely, Akira, Rikito said internally.
[Hidden Heights]
“Good,” Asuka said, finishing her healing ritual. “You’ll live.”
“Yeah, thanks to you, Asuka,” Leo said as he rolled his shoulder.
“Barely,” Kyoto muttered. “I thought I was a goner.” He sat, leaning back with his hands on the floor and his legs stretched out.
Reito sat next to him. “No kidding…” as he looked towards the Southern sky.
He stiffened. Is that? “Hey, do you guys feel that?”
Kyte’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah.”
Reito grinned. “That’s my dad. He’s back!” He’s the only one with Dystopian powers like this!
“Uncle Rikito?” Akaza asked.
“We haven’t seen him in years!” Kazuma added.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Thank goodness. If Rikito and Akira are both fighting, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.” Asuka said.
“Actually,” Fevee swallowed, sweat running down the side of her face. “I think Akira is out of commission. I can barely feel his signature… but Sikira is there too. Hopefully they were able to save him…”
“No way? Dad lost?” Akaza wailed with a frown.
“Hey, Reito, you have enough energy to make a portal to get back there?” Kyoto asked.
“No…”
“Even if you could, I doubt we would be much help,” Leo said. “Thanks to Asuka, we’ve been healed, but we’re still fatigued. We wouldn’t last long in a battle of that magnitude.”
“Sorry,” Asuka bowed her head, “if only my technique didn’t drain your own aether too.”
“Don’t worry yourself. We would be dead right now if it wasn’t for you. Instead of worrying about what we can’t do, we should focus on what we can. And the only thing we can do right now is recover our strength.” Leo exhaled.
“I’ll head over there,” Kyte said. “I’m still at full strength, and while I may not be as strong as Akira or Rikito, I can still keep up with them.”
“Should I go with you?” Asuka asked.
“Nah, it’s too dangerous, Mom,” Kyoto said. “At least Dad can teleport anyone who gets injured back here. So, it’s better if you just stay here where it’s safe.”
“I agree,” Leo said.
“Alright, then I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait,” Reito said. “I might be able to teleport you half the distance.”
[Rikito vs. Apocalypse]
“Impressive,” Apocalypse remarked, watching Rikito transform.
Black markings appeared on Rikito’s face as he uttered, “Perfect Demon Form.”
He exuded Divine Pressure as Divine aether flowed through his meridians. A blend of black and violet aether surged around him as he activated his Divine Demonic Spirit Resonance. His hair flowed upwards with a violet tint. His irises glowed violet, and neon black eyeshadow ran beneath his eyes as his True Demon Force ignited.
“Not only have you improved upon the pseudo-spirit that I created, but you’ve also innovated your Demon Form… I’m nothing but impressed by you, Rikito. You are the prime example of Dystopian strength.”
“Save your flattery. It won’t spare you from death at my hands,” Rikito said as he slid into his stance.
“While your Yield is impressive, it still won’t be enough for you to contend with me,” Apocalypse said. The pressure I’m feeling is similar to Akira’s… They’ve done something to the aether flowing through their meridians. It must be a type that I’m not familiar with. “Now—come, my son.”
In an instant, Rikito shrouded himself in a mantle of black and violet lightning. Abyssal Lightning Cloak!
He vanished—then struck.
Apocalypse barely raised his guard in time.
He’s fast—faster than Akira. And his pressure… he seems like he’ll be even more troublesome.
“Tenebris Ruina: March of Devastation: Abyssal Ruination!”
Rikito ricocheted through Apocalypse’s defenses, each impact layered with crushing force before bouncing him into the air. He ended the sequence with a skyward beam that forced Apocalypse to brace.
“Last Rites: Ruination Cannon!”
“Eventide Maw—Dark Verse: Insidious Dark Veil!”
The shield formed just in time—an orb of dark energy solidifying around his body.
Rikito didn’t stop.
“There’s more where that came from!” he shouted, Aether-Skipping to Apocalyse’s flank, then blasted him again.
“Veil of Unbeing: Infuscate.” His skin darkened to pitch black, his demonic markings glowing pure white—strengthening his previous beam.
“Psalm of the Lightless Hour: Sovereign Cataclysm: Midnight Chaos Bringer!”
His Earth-splitting beam was shrouded in a dark aura, and with the addition of his previous attack, it tore through the shield. The explosion lit the sky.
The smoke cleared, revealing Apocalypse’s extensive damage.
He staggered—then laughed. “Not bad.”
The Dark Heart pulsed. His wounds slowly began knitting closed.
They were both panting—Apocalypse hanging on for his life, and Rikito exhausting a significant portion of his Flow.
Rikito’s skin returned to its regular pigment as his Infuscate wore off—his demonic markings returning to their dark ink.
So, a temporary power boost... But dangerous. I never imagined that he would be able to overcome me. I can’t gauge how strong he is with his aether signature masked… Once my body recovers, I’ll unleash the Demon Form. He seems exhausted, but I won’t take any chances. I’m sure Akira will turn up again as well…
Dammit… Rikito thought. I was hoping to finish him with that. My Infuscate drained most of my Utopic aether, so I won’t be able to maintain my forms for much longer. It must be nice to have an autonomous spirit, providing aether like Akira…
Rikito held his left palm up. Archon of Ruin! “Implosion!” I can’t give him the chance to regenerate!
“Darling, watch out!” Cataline yelled from below, I still don’t have enough aether to fight again… this damning flaw of Dystopians—despite our ability to transform without a Blessing, the size and recovery of our Flow is much inferior to a Pure Utopian’s.
Still being knitted together, Apocalypse was unable to dodge. “Insidious Dark Veil!”
He put up an incomplete shield in front of himself, blocking out the energy from the Implosion.
[Akira and Sikira]
“Utopic Edict: Blessed Kiss: Infinite Regenerations,” Akira muttered, channeling a massive surge of his aether through his body.
His wounds lit up with a verdant glow as particles of aether glued onto them in restoration.
“It seems like Rikito might not need my help after all… just what kind of training has he been doing?”
“He’s been completely focused on surpassing you, ever since you learned how to manipulate Divine aether. He was a bit disappointed when you left to go to Planet Utopia, but he never let up with his training,” Sikira said.
“Yeah, I can tell. He has a pretty good grasp of Divine aether, too. But I’m also interested to see how strong you’ve gotten, Sikira! I wonder who would win between you and Asuka, ha-ha.”
“If you have enough strength to be joking around like that, then get back in the fight!” Sikira jabbed Akira in the gut.
“Ouch!” he yelped as he grabbed his abdomen. “I’ll wait for now. I’m sure Rikito would rather finish this without my help.
That’s true… but I’m still worried. Rikito’s aether reserves won’t last forever… and I feel like Apocalypse is hiding something—something sinister.
“Hey, Sikira…”
“Yeah?”
“There’s something that’s always bothered me since you showed us your Negative-aether-based techniques.”
“What about them?”
“They seem similar to Apocalypse’s abilities… so I was wondering, where did you even learn to manipulate Negative aether?”
“That’s a good question…” Sikira said with her hand on her chin as she pondered.
“You don’t remember!?”
“That was like twenty years ago! Besides, my master was kinda weird… some old guy I just happened to find while I was traveling between other planets.”
“I see…”
They stopped conversing to focus on the battle. They felt a great surge of power, unlike anything they’d experienced before.
[Above the ocean – Between the Central and Southern Regions]
Kyte was cutting through the sky when he noticed that he was approaching South Pine Island. This is where Marie lives… Reito teleported me farther than I thought.
“It’s daddy!” A small girl flew in front of Kyte, with a woman dangling from her waist.
“Katelyn! What did I tell you about flying!” the woman, Marie, said.
“Kate!? Marie!? What are you two doing here?” Kyte asked as his daughter flew into his arms and he caught them.
“Kyte! I didn’t know you were coming home. Sorry to surprise you like this, but I guess Katelyn was able to sense you.”
“Ha-ha, you don’t say.”
“Daddy, Daddy, how was space?!” Kate asked.
“It was amazing, dear. I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I have some important business to take care of.”
“Did you hear that, dear? We have to let Daddy go back to work now.” Marie said.
“Aww,” Kate pouted. “Make sure you hurry home, okay, Daddy?”
“Of course,” Kyte said as he descended and brought them home.
Just outside the town, a gray humanoid hovered above the island. With its sights set on Kyte, it fired a large orb-shaped aether blast at the town.
Is that!? Kyte quickly took note of the attack and flew into the air to deflect the aether blast before it could cause anyone in the village harm.
“Who are you?!” Kyte questioned as he confronted the humanoid in the air.
[Rikito vs. Apocalypse]
What!? Rikito’s eyes widened, his skin turning pale.
The Dark Veil gave Apocalypse just enough time to restore his body.
His aura erupted—violent, absolute.
The Dark Heart Demon Form.
Rikito froze. “Damn it all…” he muttered. I… can’t beat this.
“Giving up already?” a voice said.
With yellow remnants of his sigils dissipating, Akira appeared beside him—cracking his knuckles despite the strain.
“This battle is just getting started!”
[Next Time on Lyte of Utopia]: “The Unrivaled Duo Reunites!”
[Yield Levels]:
Rikito: 5z
- Divine Pressure: 6z
- DP + Soul Resonance: (Divine Demonic Spirit Resonance) + True Demon Force + Perfect Demon Form: 15z
- DP + SR: (DDSR) + TDF + PDF + Abyssal Lightning Cloak: 16z
- DP + SR: (DDSR) + TDF + PDF + ALC + Infuscate: 17z
- Abyssal Ruination: x3z (Blitz)
- Ruination Cannon: x5z
- Midnight Ruination Cannon: x7z
- Midnight Chaos Bringer: x4z
Apocalypse: 12z
- Dark Heart Boost: 17z
- Dark Heart Demon Form: 21z
- Insidious Dark Veil: x5z (Shield)
Asuka: 50 – 4z
- Ultimate Regenerations (External): (Healing / Regen)
Kyte: 6z
Kyoto: 350 – 4z
- Aether Resurgence: (Surge): 500 – 4z
Reito: 300 – 4z
- Aether Resurgence: (Surge): 400 – 4z
- Dark Passage: x2z (Portal)
Kazuma: 20 – 4z
Akaza: 30 – 4z
Fevee: 5,000
Leo: 10 – 5z
Cataline: 11z
- Weakened: 6z
Akira: 5z
- Unconscious: 5
- Weakened: 2z
- Infinite Regenerations (Internal): (Heal / Regen)
Marie: 3
Kate: 1,000
Sikira: 6z