The Village Disciples

Tanjo and Yuso hovered in the vastness of the Shirugeto's extension universe, their eyes spitefully glowering at Regashi. The fight was inevitably coming to a close as the teenager and redhead had decided to pour everything they had into one final effort to take the cruel leader of the Furusato Unit down. From an external perspective, throwing everything they had at the brown-haired man would seem like suicide, but Tanjo and Yuso had no other options. Regashi was too powerful.

"Make this a good one, will you?" Regashi requested mischievously, grinning from ear to ear. 

Neither Tanjo nor Yuso spoke, briefly glancing at each other before nodding. The time for words had passed—the only action to be had was their hands flying and Aura Sense expelled. 

Neither Tanjo nor Yuso spoke, briefly glancing at each other before nodding. The time for words had passed—the only action to be had was their hands flying and Aura Sense expelled. 

*SHING! SHING! SHING!*

Many crimson pentagrams were thrown at Regashi with extreme velocity, tearing through the realm at speeds far beyond light. Regashi experienced no difficulty evading Yuso's impending attacks, swatting most of the pentagrams in various directions with his hand. The vainglorious smile on the brown-haired man's face instilled agitation in Yuso.

*BRMMM!*

Hastily, Tanjo conjured hundreds of four-phase Genso-Kyu that harbored the four main Aura Sense powers—red, blue, purple, and yellow. The teenager proceeded to envelop each of the magic spheres in the Disruption of Reality, launching them far into the red abyss around Regashi. With his green eyes shimmering, Regashi smiled as he dodged the four-phase Genso-Kyu, preventing the blue rifts accompanying them from grazing his body. 

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

Despite being covered in blue rifts, moving swiftly through the red universe to hopefully clash with the brown-haired man, the Genso-Kyu also discharged potent beams of light as they flung by Regashi, forcing him to move at a faster pace to maneuver around the teenager's attacks. 

"Starting to get a little creative, huh?" Regashi laughed, his cloak swaying in every direction as he twirled throughout the realm.

*PRSHH!*

"Oh?"

Blood spewed from Regashi's chest as a hole was punched into his torso. In the distance, Yuso was flapping his wings mightily as his index finger was pointed at his opponent, his Shirugeto eyes whirling uncontrollably. He had used his newfound ability that enabled him to erase chunks of his current universe. 

"Hrng!" Tanjo suddenly grunted, his eyes locked on Regashi. 

Slamming his fists together, Tanjo slowly twisted his hands as if he were wringing out an invisible cloth, prompting all of his Genso-Kyu to simultaneously surround Regashi in the form of a cyclone. Regashi immediately acknowledged the occurrence, chuckling as he stretched his right arm outward to halt the fast-moving spheres of magic and blue rifts. 

"Destroy everything!" Tanjo hurriedly ordered, his jaw clenching. 

Before Regashi could do anything, each of the Genso-Kyu and their blue rifts exploded—*KABOOM!*—requiring Tanjo to shield him and Yuso in a bubble of his Disruption of Reality; however, it allowed them to witness the Shirugeto's extension universe being torn to shreds by the explosion, with Regashi at the center of it all.

Surprisingly, the entire infinite universe created by the Shirugeto was eradicated, shedding light on how far Tanjo could stretch his power. 'Destroy everything' was his command, and that was exactly what the Disruption of Reality did. Destroyed every bit of matter and square inch of space that the infinite red universe had to offer. 

Once the light of Tanjo's explosion died, Yuso looked around, realizing they were no longer in his curse's realm—but they were not in their home universe, either. 

"Tanjo, does this look like where we left?" The redhead queried, his eyes surveying the cosmos around him. 

They were no longer on the moon outside of Earth, but floating in a random quadrant of a universe they could not identify. The rifts that protected the two of them from the intense explosion dissipated as the jet-black-haired teenager shook his head, staring at the stars and galaxies that were millions of kilometers away. 

"Obviously… not. It might be our universe, but definitely not where we were before." Tanjo replied, his blue eyes reflecting the light of the universe. 

The two rogues scanned the abyss for Regashi's whereabouts, only to come up short as they floated cluelessly. They rarely needed to utilize their wings due to them motionlessly hovering in space. Despite being at their current strongest states, they felt the adrenaline in their body working to its limits, causing them to no longer wish for Regashi to prolong their fight. Every time Regashi stalled, the energy would subside, the blood pumping through Tanjo and Yuso's veins would quell, and everything seemed right—until he eventually reappeared. 

"Tanjo! Beneath us!" Yuso yelled, his Shirugeto eyes swirling instinctively. 

The teenager swiftly snapped his head downward, his eyes instantly landing on an overwhelming sight. It was a green eye—just a green eye for all that both he and Yuso could see. It was massive, exponentially dwarfing surrounding stars and galaxies. The most horrifying revelation about the sight was that it was just the eye. 

Without warning, the eye moved at incredible speeds, backing off and revealing the rest of what it belonged to: Regashi. The man's body was nightmarishly huge, making the universe they resided in appear as if it was just a small room that he struggled to stand in. Even if every celestial body in the entire universe were conjoined into one structure, its size would still be smaller than one of Regashi's eyelashes. 

Another concerning fact was that he was still growing. 

"Want to pull that move off again!? The 'destroy everything' one!?" Yuso suggested anxiously, gritting his teeth at the sight of a colossal Regashi. 

Tanjo grunted and said, "My magic is going to catch up to me at some point. I have to constantly be repairing myself just to go this far, and even if I destroy everything again, he'll just come back! It's a waste of my own output!"

"I thought we were giving it our all no matter what!?" Yuso retorted. 

"I never said I wasn't!" Tanjo replied, looking away. "Look!"

Regashi's left hand was suddenly coming down, dispersing clusters of galaxies and stars with every passing second. Tanjo and Yuso had to greatly enhance their eyesight with their Aura Sense to see the edges of Regashi's gigantic hand. 

"Well, I'm not waiting!" Yuso declared, narrowing his eyes. 

*SHRRMMM!*

The Shirugeto in Yuso's eye sockets whirled frantically as he flapped his black, feathery wings, soaring without hesitation toward the enormous Regashi. The redhead swung his right hand, creating hundreds of pentagrams over Regashi's flesh and clothing. The further he soared and the closer he approached, the more pentagrams he created on Regashi's body, allowing him to scale the behemoth of a man at a quick pace.

Eventually, when Yuso finally flew high enough to stare Regashi in the eyes after traveling at impeccable speeds, the redhead held his hands out. In this brief moment, Yuso reflected on his entire life, remembering what Regashi had said—how he had been the driving factor behind every excruciating event in the youngest Takuetsu's life. Because of Regashi, Yuso's mind was fractured, irrevocably split into millions of pieces. 

A catalyst for chaos birthed a catalyst for order. 

"...Fracture!"

In a matter of seconds, the crimson pentagrams that clung to Regashi's body shimmered brightly, both sucking in and expelling matter from their mouths simultaneously. The frames of the pentagrams pulsed dangerously, with the magic that sustained them faltering. 

As Regashi's giant hands attempted to clutch the redhead, his body split apart, and so did the space around him. A massive void in the universe was punched into place, with Regashi vanishing as a result. Yuso peered into the void curiously, wondering just how much damage to the universe he caused. He felt both pride and anxiety upon realizing how much power he wielded. 

"Yuso!" Tanjo called out to the redhead, flying up to his side. "What did you do!? Regashi broke like a mirror!"

"I continuously ruptured reality with the pentagrams on his body and it caused him to… fracture." Yuso explained, not looking away from the void. 

Tanjo glanced at the void. "It looks like a hole that leads to a different universe. You punched that by yourself."

Suddenly, a hand grasped both of their shoulders. 

"Why don't you fellas go check it out?" Regashi's voice rang in their ears.

Both Tanjo and Yuso felt as they were forcefully thrown into the massive tear in space, witnessing as the previous universe they hovered in escaped from view and as a new one appeared. They had crossed the horizon between universes. 

"Ha!" 

A fist was then lodged in Yuso's abdomen, causing the redhead to cough up blood. A second punch then struck Yuso across the face, only to have his hair pulled as a way to reel his body back into a third punch that collided with Yuso's throat. Regashi had swiftly subdued Yuso in under a second, turning his gaze to Tanjo. 

*KRSHH!*

Tanjo prepared himself as he locked eyes with Regashi. Unfortunately, it would not be enough.

*SHINK!*

Regashi transformed his right hand into a claw, hacked it off, and flung it at the teenager, impaling him in the stomach. Tanjo's thoughts came to an end as Regashi emerged behind him, slashing his own leg off and smacking the boy in the side of the head with his severed limb. All of these steps were intended to prevent Tanjo's Disruption of Reality from latching onto Regashi when they came into contact.

In moments, Regashi's right hand and leg grew back. 

"I like your guys' improvement! Too bad it has to end."

Tanjo howled in pain as he fueled his body with the yellow Aura Sense, twirling his body and trying to land a solid kick on Regashi. Unexpectedly, Regashi bit down on Tanjo's calf and yanked the boy downward, allowing him to brutally drive his left hand into Tanjo's waist. 

"Argh!" The teenager cried out in pain, clamping his eyes shut. 

Regashi gripped the back of Tanjo's head, holding him up high as they floated in space. 

"Before I kill you, there is one thing I want to see." The menacing older brother claimed, turning his head to look behind him. "If you're going to help them, come out now. I'm not one you can hide from until the time is right."

Struggling to open his eyes, Tanjo was strained as he watched two rifts pull apart space in the distance. Slowly, two familiar beings entered the vicinity, making Tanjo's eyes widen. 

"Kronos!? Aphrodite!?" 

The blue-haired god of time hummed, floating next to the brown-haired goddess. Their divine rifts circled their frames majestically, staring down Regashi with indignance and trepidation. 

Kronos stared at Tanjo intently. "It's been some time, Tanjo. For you, at least. Admittedly, I wish this moment had come later."

Tanjo wanted to inhale, but his breath was shaky as his Disruption of Reality waned, causing the rifts that prevented him from suffocating in space to falter. The teenager was overwhelmed and vastly uninformed about numerous things. That was how it had always been, from when he was born to now. 

"What are you talking about!?" Tanjo asked, unable to free himself from Regashi's grasp.

"We're here to save you, of course!" Aphrodite asserted, waving her hands. 

Regashi grinned malevolently, his green eyes glowing. He tossed Tanjo aside, making the teenager struggle to regain his balance in space.

"You can't! He killed the Tansu!" Tanjo hollered, clenching his waist. 

The god of time nodded, his gaze on Regashi. "...We know."

Tanjo flapped his wings angrily, his blue eyes dilating. "Then don't do this! Me and Yuso were getting a grasp on this!"

Kronos scoffed. Tanjo's growth was undeniable, especially when taking note of how much progress the teenager has had ever since he departed from the academy in Buraun. But, when put in front of Regashi, there was no progress to truly be considered sufficient. Kronos wanted to say he knew how Regashi worked, but he knew enough. 

"That only means he's winning. Go and heal with Yuso. Think about new ways to use your Disruption of Reality. Aphrodite and I will… stall him for a bit." Kronos stated, his voice bereft of emotion. 

"Kronos, no!" Tanjo screamed, the muscles in his jaw clenching. 

"Aphrodite, please. I can't think straight with his yelling." The god of time implicitly ordered the goddess.

The goddess nodded, aiming her left hand at the teenager. "I'm sorry, Tanjo. Know we're doing this for you."

The boy's eyes widened. "Wait—!"

*KRSHH!*

Before he could finish speaking, Tanjo was transported elsewhere, swallowed by yellow rifts. Yuso had also been moved along with the teenager. 

"So, Kronos." Regashi began speaking, a wicked grin plastered to his face. "It's nice to meet you after so long. Your tactics are… similar to mine."

Kronos cleared his throat, glowering at the brown-haired man. The god did not have high expectations for this confrontation, but he did hope it would prove to be useful in some way. 

"Always trying to be a step ahead, arranging events in a way that would later benefit you. It was who gave Tanjo his Aura Amalgamation, after all. Not to mention Miss Aphrodite gave him the Disruption of Reality. Real sticky ability there." Regashi rambled on, observing the two divine beings with fascination. 

"We both clearly want something to come of this, Regashi." Kronos said sternly, "And it involves Tanjo."

XXX

Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you guys have a merry Christmas! Stay tuned for more!

Have a Great Day!

Peace - Cr1ticalz_