Crimson Rebellion

Year 1026, 1st of January

Time: 11:00 A.M.

It was yet another chilling day with greyed-out skies overshadowing the Sapphire Phoenix territory. Despite the New Year having officially started; there was hardly a trace of happiness to be found in the atmosphere. Overlooking the area from just above the clouds returning from his late-night excursion, Orion held an expression of insidious delight in anticipation over the deeds he sought to carry out on this rather grim day. Things have been far too quiet for his personal tastes lately so he needed some form of entertainment. Although this task he was set to carry out was a part of his plan, he found the idea of this peace to be just distasteful.

Before landing outside the encampment, he gazed out across the land in all general directions recalling just how this world was nearly torn asunder by the Second Primordial War. That was just the kind of chaos he enjoyed. Sure he may have been controlled by some damn overbearing old man but the result of the actions that ensued was just intoxicating to say the least. Just feeling that thrill also made him remember the events of the Pandora Conflict as well. This made him miss a certain someone that many would prefer to forget about.

"I wish Rias was here…she wasn't boring to say the least plus she was just gorgeous. I mean the quality of that crazy is only something a guy like me could love," he sighed as he made his descent onto the area then making his way towards his quarters before anyone spotted him. As he was caught up in his preferences for chaos over peace, he found himself thinking over the notion of heroes.

"A hero is someone who does whatever it takes to protect the innocent or fights for hope or peace. Sure this person may be like an ordinary individual but this person has the strength to stand up and be willing to sacrifice his or her life for the sake of others. This person never asks for anything in return nor makes a compromise to save one's own life so long as others are saved. It's quite a lovely sentiment if you like that sort of thing but seriously who gives a damn?!

Ah, heroes, why are you all so damn boring? Sure you get the admiration of the public and your fame spreads around like wildfire but isn't it just a passing trend? This bullshit of saving humanity and risking your life for others is the most anticlimactic thing ever. I mean at the end of the day, you either get the job done or you fail miserably. Ironically it's rather amusing how for every good thing that you do, it only takes one small detail to completely destroy your reputation. That's why you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Humanity is selfish. They want someone to get their hands dirty and do the job they're too damn scared to do then bitch about what's right and wrong. The whole damn race is just full of hypocrisy in my eyes. That's why I prefer chaos. It doesn't discriminate between the strong and the weak. It's just a constant thing that spreads and consumes plus it's just full of fun. Who cares about order? You heroes always want to preach about freedom but really, freedom only applies to those who have the power to 'make a difference'. That's just self-righteous bullshit. No matter how many lives you save or how many times you triumph over what is perceived to be evil, it will never be enough. Why? Because chaos is the real thing that drives humanity; after all, isn't that why war exists?

You heroes talk about justice and a world without tyranny but that's just a pipeline dream. What's fine for the many will never satisfy the few and vice versa. No one wants to admit it but when everything is said and done, there isn't a goddamn person in this world worth saving because the system just isn't good enough. Team AKARA, you're just wasting your time. You may be soaring on the wings of your popularity for now but that's because you haven't experienced failure yet. You guys just haven't been put in your place yet. You are exactly the example of how humans believe the hype way too much. At this rate, you're no better than a bunch of false gods humanity has elected to drop to its knees and pray to. Then again, submission could also be the root of the nature instilled in mankind as well.

Life would just be so much better if everyone would just give into their darkest desires and unleash the chaos that I know exists inside everyone."

After his mental tirade came to an end, the insane individual was about to step inside his quarters when he caught the sight of a certain someone that he felt would put a premature end to his goal unless he removed her first. That person was currently roaming around the grounds lurking near the area where he stored the door to Hyperion. As if being blessed by lady luck, Orion could not help but to smile sinisterly over how perfect the opportunity was.

Vesta Arashi, the Godspeed, felt an innate curiosity to check out the state of affairs at the Sapphire Phoenix encampment for a rather peculiar reason. Despite of the fact that she was of a different universe, the Rose-Eyed Stormbringer could not escape the feeling of longing to see what kind of state her "mother" was currently in as a result of Raizo's creative departure. Although she held no attachment to this world's incarnation of Hestia Arashi, there was just a small tug in her mind to at least humor that inquisitive side of hers.

She didn't ask for any directions but then again, it seemed as if there wasn't really anyone around that she could ask in this part of the outpost. From what she could perceive from afar, many of the occupants here were in the midst of departure as numerous caravans full of supplies and such began to leave the grounds heading in opposite directions. The young woman found herself inside of a tent that was seemingly unoccupied by any one person yet it housed a strange steel-looking door before her. Atop of the threshold was a teigu she recognized as Shambhala grafted within it. She had no clue what this door was but it was obviously abnormal. Suddenly, she heard a voice call it from behind.

"If you're looking for Lady Hestia, she's inside blowing off some steam due to yesterday's events," spoke the subtle presence of Orion as he stood at the entrance observing the girl inside.

The female Stormbringer instantly identified the voice of the man to be the user of Shiva's Maelstrom. Out of all the members of the Sapphire Phoenix crew, she recalled how Orion was the most deceptive out of all of them. She felt a hint of disgust thinking about the man and his sly ways but as insignificant as he was to her in her universe was the same feeling she kept in regard to him right now.

"Is that right?" Vesta replied in a dismissive tone at before casting her gaze over the door before her.

"You can enter if you want. It's just a training space I designed for us to use at any point in time. Ya might experience a little dizziness by first entering but other than that, it's essentially an alternate reality of the cosmos," Orion explained.

"And why should I trust someone like you?" the girl questioned with a hint of annoyance unafraid of communicating her distrust of the man.

"Just look for yourself," the male replied calmly as he waved his hand causing the door to Hyperion open up slowly. The void contained behind the gateway revealed a figure of a woman with long, white hair much like the speedster in the room was inside training alone with her seven spears. Currently, the unstable individual was practicing her forms using the seven weapons effortlessly manipulating their behavior using her gravitational abilities.

"See?" Orion prodded slightly. Vesta merely shot back a glare for a tiny moment before focusing on the doorway.

"Congratulations for being correct about something for once. Don't let it go to your head," the Godspeed responded before taking a step into the open void. Once inside, the door shut behind her leaving the chaos lover alone.

"Heh, well that some effort but it went smoothly; thanks Deus for showing me a cool trick," Orion remarked. The visage of Hestia training inside the realm was actually a decoy that the man had created. The Gravity Queen was still huddled inside her tent which he tucked inside a separate dimension before coming here. Though having her tent missing would probably generate some form of controversy so an illusion of her hut was on display to trick any other onlooker. The man then pondered for a moment before glancing over the door once again. He snaps his fingers and rushes outside the structure that housed Hyperion thus charging cosmic energy in his hands.

"NEXUS!" he shouts out before clapping his hands together in which the energy spread out like a wave affecting the tent and absorbing it into another dimension. The insidious male unleashed his Kamui onto the small structure in which sent the target away into an alternate reality that was kept at the center of the multiverse.

"That should hold her but probably not for long meaning I need to hurry," he thought aloud. The youth quickly took off from the ground soaring high into the dark skies above threatening to depart from the Earth's atmosphere as a result. Doing just that, he stopped about half the distance between the planet and its moon. He intertwined his fingers together then pulled them apart gradually like he was pulling out a net. It was then that a massive wormhole appeared in the space before him ripping apart space slowly but surely just like the one he created last night that consumed Wakoku; only this time, the portal was even more powerful as it possessed more than enough power to devour Earth and any celestial body that called this solar system home.

"Though the entire universe may get swallowed up if they don't act fast enough…"

Orion smiled maliciously as he dashed towards the moon to observe just how the heroes he abhorred would react to this monstrous disaster that he had created.

"Don't disappoint me Stormbringer…"

*****

MEANWHILE…

Raizo and Adena had been training together since the early hours of the morning. At this point in time, the pair was currently meditating together before they would eventually cease for lunch. Vesta left almost immediately after they all woke up so the two knew that she would return at a later time. However, the air of relaxation was immediately disturbed when it felt like the entire planet began to shake violently and a large vortex visible from hundreds upon hundreds of miles away appeared in the area of the Sapphire Phoenix encampment.

"What the hell is going on?" Adena gasped as she looked out over the area seeing the disturbance manifest in the distance before gazing slowly towards the skies that now housed a gargantuan-sized whirlpool pulling everything, even the clouds, inside of it.

"Come on, there's no time to sweat the details!" Raizo shouted as he quickly grabbed his weapons before taking off in an instant towards the origin of the apparent destruction before them.

Moments before the rift appeared in the skies, Genesis and Zephyria were about to head out with their units. The knight was about to bid the dark-skinned female his final farewell before they departing with his troops while the woman in question was about to do the same. With the New Year officially started, they were excited to start their journeys but such sentimentality was soon interrupted.

Out of nowhere, the greyed out skies above began to swirl as if some sort of freak storm was about to break out. Usually when that occurred, it meant that the other members of Team AKARA were about to arrive but there was not a single energy signature relevant to any one of those individuals detected amongst the atmospheric irregularity. The clouds began to seemingly be sucked up into something that lay beyond the disgruntled, grey veil. Something dark waited in the heavens above yet a luminous white pattern began to reveal itself as well like an aurora that would occasionally show itself in this area during the winter season.

Seconds later, a strong shift in the direction of airflow followed as all manners of debris began to fly about in the area like a tornado was unfolding; however as opposed to everything being swept around like a child throwing a temper tantrum, everything was being sucked up into the skies above. It started with a few of the tents that were scattered about the grounds but soon escalated to the trees in the forests, supplies and wagons were next, until it then began to take away the people. If anything, this disaster was like someone had taken a whirlpool and planted it into the atmosphere letting the anomaly devour anything in its path. Although, it wasn't just the surface that was in trouble but the entire planet which became evident when it felt like an earthquake had spread far across the land and the dark opening was drawing closer and closer. Life around them was disappearing as they knew it and this world was about to meet its end. As the two warriors looked around almost feeling helpless in the face of devastation, Raizo and Adena appeared on the scene.

The Stormbringer could not help but be horrified by the travesty that was unfolding around him. He could hear the screams of the men and women being picked up as they were helplessly being sucked into the abyss in the heavens. Genesis instinctively reacted by trying to use his shadow abilities by creating phantom limbs to grab as many people as he could to prevent them from flying off. However, this would wind up becoming an arduous attack as the force of the vacuum became stronger and stronger with each passing second.

The air began to thin making it difficult for normal individuals to breathe. This caused the normal soldiers to suffocate before they met their untimely demise at the hands of the monstrosity in the skies above. Trying to mitigate the effect of this, Zephy tried to use her air manipulation abilities to contain oxygen in the area but her efforts would eventually be for nothing as the planet continued being pulled closer and closer. Raizo felt time slow inside his mind as he watched the two former generals expend their abilities to save everyone they could even if it was all for naught.

"Dammit all…I can't let this happen to our world, not after all that we've sacrificed to get here," Raizo spoke gritting his teeth in frustration. As he observed the calamity around him, he found himself taking the efforts that Gen and Zephy were displaying into account while coming up with a plan.

"Raizo, what are you thinking?" Adena asked sensing that the former blood wolf had something on his mind.

"I got a plan but it's going to take everyone's help for it to work and I do mean everyone," the youth responded referring to his mother and Orion who were noticeably absent from the ongoing crisis.

"Hestia still has not come out of her quarters as far as I know and Orion hasn't been around since yesterday," Genesis responded overhearing Raizo's statement.

"Damn, talk about perfect timing. Heh, I wonder what those guys in Neveir and the Capital are thinking right now," Adena scoffed while folding her arms in annoyance.

"No time to worry about them right now. It'll just have to be up to us four to save everyone. Shit, I wish Vesta and Akame were around right now…" the Crimson Harbinger sighed while shaking his head.

"Don't worry Raizo, we'll support you as best we can," Zephy spoke reassuringly.

"Damn right babe, so spill it. What's the plan?" Adena added.

Genesis merely nodded in agreement as well as all eyes were now on the Stormbringer. This was one of those rare occasions that he had actually stepped to the plate to actually lead. It felt…weird to him if he wanted to be honest. Normally he would follow his own flow or according to the lead of Akaro or any of the others within Team AKARA. He felt he had a trend of bad luck when it came to taking point at any particular moment. The memories of the times he went to The Archive back when he was with Night Raid and wound up captured as a result of his carelessness along with his position in the Shatterpoint timeline gave him much pause about being a leader. Shaking his head, he tried to bury those doubts and believe in what he could do while trusting in the support of those around him in this moment.

"Genesis, I need you use those shadow abilities of yours to cover the entire planet to prevent anything else from being sucked into that giant whirlpool. Zephy, keep doing what you were doing before with the air but also make sure to extend it to the rest of the planet if you can. Since my mother isn't here to hold the Earth in place from flying into that damn thing…Adena, I need you to use your fire abilities and act as a thruster to prevent us from flying any closer to that," Raizo explained fleshing out his plan for everyone and what roles he had in mind for all of them.

"Heh, well this isn't the craziest thing we've done but it definitely sounds like a whole lot of fun!" Adena smirked pounding her right-handed fist into her left palm.

"We don't have much time to spare. Adena, I'll leave a hole in the shadow net so that your flames can escape and push us away from this thing," Genesis decreed.

"And I'm gonna have to go all out to channel the air effectively since there will still be air escaping," Zephy added.

"Sounds good guys, but Raizo what are you going to do?" the redhead inquired.

"I'm gonna try and do something about our little aerial disturbance," the boy responded.

"You're gonna what?!" Adena shouted.

"I have to try and close that portal. Without Orion, someone is gonna have to try and dispel that thing. This is why I wish Vesta was here but I have to step up my game as a speedster sometime."

"Of course you take the riskiest job…I'd argue against it but time is running out so you be sure and bring your ass back okay?"

"Heh, come on Adena don't insult me. Who the hell do you think I am?" Raizo smirked with determination.

"One crazy Red-Eyed Stormbringer that I happen to love…but you're right, you can do this babe. Just don't overdo it okay?"

"Got it, I'll see you guys on the other side."

"""Right!""" the trio of former generals acknowledged in unison.

Raizo nodded before transforming into his Heart of the Storm then took off in the very next instant flying away from the Earth and blazing his way towards the spatial vortex that awaited him. Genesis began to unleash his darkness and spread it across the entire planet coating it in a protective shell that managed to cut off the excessive force of the suction that the wormhole was unleashing upon the planet. Though it safeguarded those on the surface for a time, it still did little to prevent the powerful anomaly from pulling the celestial body towards it.

As for Zephyria, she unleashed her Kamui known as Stigma of the Wind. Her hair changed to a glossier silver tone to reflect the shift in which allowed her to call forth power that was kept within the Earth and every living thing on it itself acting as a vessel for the energy of nature. But that wasn't all; she was raking the energy from every cosmic entity within the solar system to fuel her power giving her complete dominion over how gaseous molecules behaved in space. As a result, she churn the air thus bending it to her will and enveloping the surface under Gen's darkness shell with enough oxygen so that everyone could breathe properly.

Adena unleashed her Dragonheart state which was indicative due to her pupils turning red and her hair turning purple. Genesis did indeed keep a hole in the shell open for her to unleash the thrust of her flames. Taking note of it, she blasted away from the Earth before flying back down pushing with all her might against the surface of the world as the spherical object began to slow its advance towards the wormhole and was gradually being repulsed away from it. The strength of the vortex now had to battle against the force of a woman whose prowess extended well above universal levels in terms of strength at this point.

Raizo began running around the circumference of the rift in a counterclockwise direction. Since the spiral of the opening was turning clockwise, he figured that by traveling in the opposite direction that the opening would destabilize and close on itself. There was no time to hold anything back, nor was there any time for him to consider the effects it would have on his body afterwards. He didn't have the extra time to worry about using his Primordial Weapons or if there was an alternate approach. All he could do was what many would consider to be impossible.

The four warriors fought with all their might to oppose this catastrophe that was unleashed upon them so suddenly. They had to believe in each other's powers for this to work although the pressure was ultimately upon the Stormbringer himself. The former Sapphire Phoenix generals were performing their roles to perfection. Life on Earth was being shielded thanks to Genesis' phantasmal blanket; everyone could breathe thanks to Zephyria's air bending, while Earth was gradually being pushed away from the wormhole due to Adena's strength whose flames radiated brilliantly into space.

"Faster…I have to go even faster…"

That was the main thought occupying Raizo's mind as he moved faster than he ever could before while traversing the circular track of this annoying obstruction. In his crimson gaze, all he could see was the goal of closing this monster so that everyone back on his home world would be safe regardless of them being friend or foe. He felt the responsibility of protecting this planet weigh heavily upon his shoulders greater than ever before because he made that vow of protecting this planet to his family. He could not afford to fail, not here, not now. Even if his body broke down on him and his mind wanted to give up, he refused to let his soul waver. He did not know how much time passed since the rift first appeared to this moment. For all he knew, it could have been just a mere five minutes but it felt like an eternity was passing at this point. Regardless, he just kept running.

Meanwhile away from everyone's attention casually hiding near the moon, Orion could not help but to laugh at what was unfolding before his eyes. It was going better than he could have ever anticipated. He wasn't expecting Raizo to rally together his former comrades in the way that he did but he had the Stormbringer right where he wanted him. As much as the sadist within him wanted to watch the lightning user struggle just a little bit more, the insidious man knew that he had to capitalize on the opening that was given to him.

"You're way too damn entertaining Raizo, but it's time for you to take your hard-earned exit before my time runs out. So why don't you say goodbye?" the man maliciously smiled before snapping his fingers once more. As he did so, the product of his evil began to change.

The Stormbringer continued to speed around the circular disaster as the devilish beast began to shrink from the youth's speed. As the gradual closure of the wormhole occurred, the force acting upon the Earth was weakening which meant that the planet was almost out of harm's way. Though this was a relieving fact, Raizo was determined to hold off his celebration on the beast was dispelled completely and he could return home safely to his comrades.

"Just a little more…I can't slow down here, I won't slow down here!"

Raizo's purple aura intensified until it became a fully visible beacon of light through Gen's darkness on the surface of the Earth. He intensified his speed until it felt like his muscles were feeling numb as a result of the growing strain. Though he has been faithful to his training with Adena, the power within him still was not stable. In summary, he could wind up being put on his back for period of time until his body completely recovers but such trivialities was something he did not care about at this point in time.

Suddenly, the structure of the wormhole began to change. Even though he was running upon materialized cosmic energy, Raizo could feel the buckling of the portal from an abrupt instability through his feet. He knew it was beginning to close but his efforts should not be causing such a strong shift within the overall composition of the vortex. As he pondered on this for a moment, he felt like there was something off about all of this. Why would a rift of this magnitude suddenly open trying to consume the Earth out of nowhere? What would cause such an abnormal phenomenon to occur? This could not have been a natural disaster…no, it was too convenient to be natural.

"Someone…planned this…" Raizo gritted his teeth.

But who would go to this extent to do something like this? The male felt his mind flip through people he'd instantly suspect. That Hikari person in Neveir had abilities he did not know about so perhaps she could have done this but then again, something like this to cause a panic was far too careless. Even though he only met her one time, he felt like this was overly grandiose for someone of her demeanor. Then he began to think if someone in the Capital could have done it but that was impossible as well since the Empire was all but an afterthought at this point in time. That only left two people: his mother and Orion. Though his mother had her wild ambitions, trying to destroy the world was unlike her so that left the latter choice.

Orion Nebulous, he was someone that had a taste for using cosmic abilities so something like this was right up his alley but the motive was too convoluted to pinpoint. Although, the Red-Eyed Stormbringer couldn't exactly perceive the man's personality so dismissing him as the culprit was an idea that he could not leave. Orion was an enigma, a man who spewed an ominous aura shrouded in mystery and unpredictability. If this was truly his handiwork then the question would ultimately boil down to why he would do it in the first place. It was then that he came to the conclusion that Earth was never the target, the objective was him.

"Dammit, this was a fucking trap!" the boy cursed in frustration. Instantly he felt a wave of frustration wash over him. The youth felt stupid over his actions. Once again he jumped straight into the action without thinking but…he couldn't stand idly by and watch as his world was in danger. He hated being taken advantage of yet what other option did he have?

"Why…why am I such a fool? Damn it all…"

Raizo felt himself getting angry at the situation, at the person responsible and at himself but he could not let Orion win. He had to get away from the wormhole now before it was too late. The massive gateway began to warp in shape and contort in all different ways that made it seem like it was going to do something disastrous. The Stormbringer felt his body being pulled towards the center of the disturbance. He tried to run away from the pit that tried to grab hold of his body using his superior speed but his body had already strained itself from running beyond the limits he was used to. The former blood wolf never thought of himself as ever having a point in which he could not progress any further but the problem wasn't the fact that he had a given limit, he was sorely unprepared. To draw a conclusion his powers excelled what his body was capable of handling at this point. Ironically this was the purpose of his training with Adena over recent days—to catch his body up to his current realm of capabilities. Though his progression was on track, he was unfit for a task dealing with this cosmic disaster.

The vast projection of cosmic energy began to close in on itself. To the onlookers below on Earth, it would appear as if a flower was closing itself for the coming winter season. From the perspective of the Crimson Harbinger, he was an insect about to be caught in a Venus Fly Trap. He tried his hardest to escape even going as far to reach out towards the blue sphere where his friends would be waiting for him but no matter how hard he reached out, he was unable to grasp the freedom he was struggling for. "I'm sorry…Adena…"

In the end, the stellar anomaly enclosed on itself and dissipated swallowing the Child of Thunder into its depths.

"Farewell, Raizo Mercer," Orion smirked as the product of his evil vanished. No longer detecting the energy of the son of Mercer, the villain glided through space coming from the moon. He coasted his way gradually back down to the Earth feeling accomplished over the results of what just transpired before him.

On the surface of the Earth, the strong pull that threatened to drag the entire planet into an early apocalypse had vanished. As such, the three warriors were given the satisfaction of a victory hard earned. No longer feeling that strong pull, Adena stopped pushing on the ground before landing on her back returning to her base state and taking a deep breath. The darkness that embraced the celestial home of humanity disappeared allowing Genesis to do the same as his redheaded companion. The same courtesy was also extended to Zephyria, who reverted back to her normal state before sighing in relief.

"Damn…that was an unexpected workout," chuckled the confident redhead as she looked to the blue sky above free from the cosmic monstrosity that was there before.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd have to pull out my Kamui to deal with something like that," Zephy concurred.

"At least we managed to avoid complete catastrophe, Raizo's plan really came through," Genesis added.

"Speaking of, he should have landed by now. Where the hell is he?" Adena inquired as she stood up patting the dirt off her clothes. She looked around the area and all she could see was overturned wagons, torn down tents, soldiers trying to recover themselves and other signs of devastation. Though the side was a sad thing to behold, at least people were alive. In the distance, she could also catch a glimpse of Hestia's tent which looked virtually undisturbed. The girl shook her head disappointed that the woman was so cowardly that she did not even lend a hand to help in this endeavor.

It was then that a spiral of silver and blue pillar of light spiraled up into the skies above like a massive explosion had just occurred which caught the attention of the trio. Immediately having their attention, Addy, Gen and Zephy leapt into action taking off in that direction to investigate. Upon arrival, they found the wrecked steel door that lead to Hyperion as well as the fragments of Shambhala left on the ground. A small rift was split open where the light had come from and out of it emerged Vesta. The Rose-Eyed Stormbringer held a tense expression as she was enveloped in a twist of silver and blue electricity. Dark, indigo trails were drawn under her currently silver eyes as her presence just radiated a seething rage; such was the result of Vesta's Fury of the Tempest state. The girl took a slow look around observing the destruction that was not present when she arrived minutes earlier.

"What happened here?" she asked in a low tone despite of the rage she felt boiling inside her.

"Er…nothing much aside from a giant ass wormhole that nearly devoured the planet whole; we were able to stop it but Raizo's currently missing. Where have you been?" Adena summarized before asking the girl a perceptive question.

"I was trying to satisfy my own curiosity about something before being trapped within a false reality tossed into the center of the multiverse. But what do you mean by Raizo is missing?" Vesta responded.

"Exactly that…and how the hell did you get trapped?"

"I was tricked by…"

"Well then, looks like I was right about you breaking out. I knew you were strong but damn even you surprised me. You Stormbringers are full of surprises…well I guess you're the only Stormbringer now since the other one won't be coming back anytime soon," Orion interrupted upon appearing out of thin air before everyone.

"You bastard, you think you can trick me and get away with it?" Vesta spoke with a tinge of bloodlust in her voice. Her aura expanded as arcs of lightning began to pulse from her body like someone had cracked a bunch of whips around her.

"Wait…Orion, what the hell did you do?" Adena asked feeling shock take over her mind. Genesis and Zephyria could only watch as the confrontation unfolded.

"Hahahahaha, you guys can't be that fuckin' stupid. I mean come on, you really think a big ass wormhole that has enough power to swallow up the Earth or better yet, the entire universe or beyond is going to randomly spawn from nowhere? You thought it was a natural disaster but it was me, Orion! I planned the whole goddamn thing from trapping this idiot in Hyperion then tossing her away in my Kamui to the wormhole itself! It was just me wanting to get rid of good ol' Raizo and it worked to perfection!" the insane man ranted before laughing maniacally.

"I'm gonna end you for that…" Vesta gritted her teeth before taking a step towards the man. Adena's arm reached out to the girl to stop her in which the enraged Stormbringer merely cast a glance of disdain over the gesture but her eyes only met with a mutually enraged woman.

"You're gonna have to share with me in that regard because I'm gonna burn this motherfucker into nonexistence," the woman also known as Benihime added before her body immediately shifted back into the Dragonheart state like before brimming with an intense aura of hatred.

The two women now oozing with complete unbridled rage moved on Orion in a flash unable to be contained by the other two individuals present among them—though it wasn't like Gen or Zephy was trying to stop them anyways. The two females advanced on Orion like a strong hurricane making landfall on a coastal target both landing universal shattering blows upon the male's face at the same time sending him flying up into the air; and that wasn't even a fraction of their full power.

From there, the two women went opposite directions dashing into the sky from opposite sides before they began to wail upon Orion's helpless body. From the perspective of those watching, it was like the two were playing a game of tennis using the former mercenary as a ball as he was beaten senselessly by the two females.

"You really thought that you would get away with this and live to tell the tale?!" Adena screamed out in anger before throwing a punch into Orion's right cheek shattering his jaw. The male's body was sent spinning towards Vesta as she charged lightning in her hands.

"I'll make you regret the day you ever thought to lay a hand on my family!" the Godspeed yelled as she discharged her static fury upon the man's body which cooked his skin sending the electric sensation down into his bones. His skeletal frame became like a tuning fork as the strength of the electrical frequency forced his body to enter cardiac arrest.

As Orion fell listlessly towards the Earth, the purple-flamed Adena pursued after him without delay grabbing him by his collar striking him in his face again and again before stomping down upon his chest cavity shattering his upper ribs as he slammed into the ground. Vesta quickly followed as the women did not relent in their assault of the individual. The female Stormbringer picked Orion up by his arm but the fragile structure of the limb snapped out of place. Feeling annoyed just from the braking of it, Vesta ripped the arm of the male off causing a horrific groan from his disfigured mouth before the Godspeed elected to beat him with it.

Adena elected to go for the slow and grueling approach reaching down with her enflamed hands torching Orion's legs by allowing her intense flames inch across the male's flesh. But that was not all for the female elected to lift her leg and stomp directly downward upon the male's genitalia. Both women tried their best to unleash their rage upon him yet they tried to maximize his suffering before even thinking about gracing him with the bliss of death.

The brutal display of violence continued for at least ten minutes as Genesis and Zephyria could only watch the horror unfold before them. Despite of this, Orion still managed to laugh albeit nearly unrecognizable as such with the mixed groans of agony. Ceasing their gratuitous violence, Adena and Vesta gathered fire and lightning in their fists respectively readying themselves to deliver the final blow.

"Hold it you two," a voice echoed before the familiar visage of a girl with long, black hair and red eyes appeared holding out a sheathed, cursed blade to impede the path of both women.

"Akame?" Adena asked in slight surprise as her reddened eyes met with the woman before her.

"Why are you stopping us from finishing him off?" Vesta yelled in distraught.

"Yeah…this bastard…and Raizo…" the pained fire user added feeling her emotions about to go wild from despair.

"He's alive…you can count on that. He's a survivor like all of us and he will definitely return. Besides, the rest of Team AKARA and Elysium are watching over him," Akame spoke with surety staring up into the sky above. For the Red-Eyed Killer, she knew that Raizo wasn't the type that would die easily. No matter where he was, someone was bound to be watching over him. That was something the Counter Force had taught the girl through The Bleeding Effect. The swordswoman merely took a deep breath keeping calm as always:

"Don't worry Raizo, we'll hold down the fort while you're away…"