“Asura?!” Lakshman exclaimed, seeing his past-self sitting on the swing as it moved back and forth. “H-How?! Also…” he faltered as he saw the appearance of his past-self in confusion and asked, “why do you… look like a child?”

The first Phoenix Titan had the appearance, not of his older self, but a younger self that appeared to be around his teens. He looked like a cute child swinging back and forth on the swing as he seemingly enjoyed the serene environment.

“My appearance, ah? How? Well… I wonder how…?” Asked Asura questioningly before suddenly looking seriously at him and shouting, “It’s obviously because of you!”

“W-What?!” His current-self exclaimed, looking alarmed and pointed at himself in confusion. “What did I do?”

“It’s what you didn’t do!” Asura shouted at him while continuing to swing back and forth. “When we merged, I was supposed to finally become one with you but I didn’t! Instead, it became a strange fusion where I felt like I was in some kind of limbo where I could still feel, hear, but I couldn’t see anything! Instead, all I saw was darkness and finally, when you fought that massive attack, the fusion finally broke, and I got freed but I suddenly became like this! This is clearly your fault!”

Lakshman blinked at him in confusion and asked, “Uh… I don’t… understand…?”

“Of course, you don’t understand, you idiot!” Asura snapped at him. “For us to merge properly, you must first accept me into yourself, and I meant accept me completely! Yet, you clearly held some kind of regret or were not happy to merge with me, which caused me to end up in that limbo like state before being freed and turned into this child!”

“Oh…!” Lakshman said, finally realising the problem and smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“Sorry won’t cut it!” Asura snapped at him heatedly. “That final merger between us was supposed to be my final appearance, something like my redemption, and yet! Yet! Here I am, still having a consciousness and form of my own!” Then he clicked his tongue and said, “If this is a story and Vikram was our reader, I think he’d say my supposedly merger was retconned! Seriously, he wouldn’t be amused at all if he was a reader and we are part of a story!”

He fumed with great anger while continuing to swing back and forth on the swing while Lakshman continued to smile sheepishly. While it did embarrass him to get scolded by his past-self, he was still happy that he could see his past-self, whom he held in high regard considering he was the one that started the Phoenix Titan reincarnation cycle.

“Also,” began Asura as he, once again, continued to berate him, “what were you thinking when you took that risky approach of destroying that attack?! You realise your soul could’ve been shredded if you weren’t careful?!”

“But there was no other method that I could’ve used to cancel it out since Maga Distrab failed,” replied Lakshman reasonably, “so I had to resort to that extreme method to destroy the attack to save us all.”

“Yes, although I am kind of grateful it caused me to get freed because being in that limbo like state… well… it’s not a fun place to be in,” said Asura and suddenly looked unhappy. “It was so dark that I couldn’t see anything nor move at all, but I could hear and feel what was going on outside, but I couldn’t communicate with you nor with anyone else for that matter. It’s a lonely place… and I don’t want that to happen again.” Then he looked seriously at his current-self and said, “You better not cause this incident to happen again, otherwise I won’t be just scolding you the next time this happens!”

“Yes, yes,” replied Lakshman casually, which made his past-self fire a glare that made him smile wryly. As a change of subject, he asked his past-self, “So, how come you’re reduced to a childlike state?”

“I think this is the result of the power I possessed that got transferred over to you while leaving me with only the bare minimum.”

“Oh. Now that you mention it,” said Lakshman, and he sensed the power inside him had not changed from when he and Asura did the merge during his battle with the Dragon Titan. “I can sense that the power I gained from you had not diminished in the slightest.”

“That’s right because my power got transferred over to you while leaving me with only a small amount, which changed my appearance to become like this,” replied Asura and indicated his appearance with one hand while keeping another firmly held on the swing rope. “Anyway, what matters is that the power got transferred successfully at least.”

He sighed and finally smiled at Lakshman, which made the current Phoenix Titan to feel sympathetic for the first Phoenix Titan. For some reason, while being in a childlike state, Asura seemed to give off a more friendly, innocent and pure persona as compared to the brutal and merciless character that had developed within him after the assassination of his parents and the war against the world.

"By the way, I think we should focus on the problem at hand,” started Asura in a serious voice, and Lakshman instantly understood what he meant.

“Yeah. I feel it too,” Lakshman agreed, becoming serious as the two of them sensed the energy of something malevolent coming from somewhat far away. “It’s pure evil, and we can feel it all the way here at my home.”

“Yes, but that’s not all,” said Asura, and he wore a deadly look on his face. “There is another energy that’s being masked by this. It’s faint but… I sensed it… and I recognise it.”

“Me too. I recognise it too,” agreed Lakshman grimly as they knew exactly whose energy signature that belonged to.

This made Asura click his tongue and say, “Damn, and here I thought we still had more time, but seems like your luck had run out.”

His words caused Lakshman to chuckle and say, “Don’t say that. You know how my parents gave me my name with the hopes that I have all the luck the world could offer for me? So far, I feel that I am very lucky in a lot of situations, and I am grateful for it.”

“Yes. Both of our parents have been good to us,” agreed Asura, and he wore a soft smile before becoming sad as he continuing to say, “but we couldn’t return to them anything at all. We couldn’t even be there for them when their lives were in danger. That makes me wonder sometimes… just what kind of sons are we…?”

There was a heavy atmosphere that gathered by his words and the silence stretched for a few seconds before Lakshman broke it by saying, “I don’t think we should think of it like that. Remember the visions I had of my parents encouraging me along with everyone else whenever I felt like I no longer had any hope or a possibility to fight back?”

Asura looked at him in surprise as his current-self continued to say, “My wives are right on this point. We couldn’t be there for them when they needed us, but we can’t just let that get us down and ignore the people we have with us right now. Plus, I don’t think our parents would’ve enjoyed seeing us depressed at the thought of being useless sons. First of all, we’re not useless. You killed many people, even children, but you united the world and brought peace for several centuries and died protecting the world. I too have accomplished similar feats, although I doubt that I’m down to being as ruthless and merciless as you.”

With that, he smiled and winked at his past-self, who looked surprised before he let out a chuckle of surprise.

“Yes, and that’s why I don’t give up no matter what! You didn’t give up for peace, and I won’t as well! Not to mention, the friends and family I have today with me are very supportive of me, so I should stake what they offer and do my best to not let them down. It’s the least I can do to do some good when I failed in other places.”

Then Asura nodded his head in agreement and said, “True. You make a valid point just like you always do.”

The two of them smiled at each other for a few seconds, which abruptly came to an end when the two of them suddenly sensed something and instantly became serious.

“Oh no!” Asura exclaimed, looking shocked.

“What is this?!” Lakshman exclaimed while looking troubled. “That thing is making its move!”

“Yes, and it seems like Lagron, Dom, Valerian and Nara are powering up to their maximum to fight him!” Asura stated with a serious look of shock on his face.

***

A few minutes earlier, the Dragon Titan, the Sword Titan and the Storm Titan had been fighting the monster girl with all their might. Lagron and Dominic did not transform into their ultimate forms while Valerian was fighting in what seemed like his final form as lightning cloaked his entire body.

The three of them fought against her fiercely in a three versus one attack to ensure that she would not be able to regenerate. Lagron feared that the girl might be the Ancient Evil and possibly immortal, but could not stand back and be destroyed. It was not him to just sit back, so he fought alongside the others by not giving the girl any chance to regenerate from their attacks.

“Can we win like this?” Dominic asked Lagron after one of them massive attacks in destroying her body.

“I’m not sure,” replied Lagron worriedly. “If she’s truly immortal, then it’s hopeless, but at least we will buy enough time for Lucky to recover and come here to assist us.”

“Wait, what?!” Dominic exclaimed, looking utterly bewildered by what he just heard. “You… You’re waiting for Lucky?! Since when did you become so reliant on him?”

His question made the Dragon Titan click his tongue and say, “Believe it or not, but I have nothing useful against the likes of this thing! Only he possessed a lot of knowledge of different things and should be able to know how to handle this situation.”

The Sword Titan looked at him in frustration and said, “I still can’t believe it that she is actually immortal like you assumed! My father… I mean, the predecessor Sword Titan told me that only the Gods can kill Gods and that was a rule passed so that no mortal could bring harm to the Gods since they are immortal, right?”

This made Lagron chuckle and say, “Of course, they’d pass that rule since Asura nearly killed the God of Destruction in the past.”

Dominic’s jaw dropped in shock at the words he heard, which prompted Valerian to ask, “Really? The sir was that powerful?”

“Oh, hell he was! So powerful that he alone was equally matched in power against all the Nine Commandments of Light belonging to the Angels,” stated Lagron, which surprised Valerian and alarmed Dominic. “Don’t take the current Nine Commandment of Light into consideration because the group were incredibly powerful back then before slacking off and becoming relaxed due to living in peace up on their constantly on the move floating continent.”

“Wow…!” Valerian expressed his amazement by looking very surprised and impressed.

At that moment, they dodged another attack the monster girl sent in their direction in the form of multiple blades flying at them and several dark energy balls soaring forward. Lagron cut through the energy balls and protected himself with Dragon Armor Energise spell before the attack exploded, which resulted in great clouds of smoke to spread everywhere as well as making the wind blow wildly around them.

Valerian aimed his hand at the enemy and said, “Zaktra.”

In an instant, a small ball of energy formed in front of his palm which soon began to emit lightning all around it. Then he launched it towards the monster girl, who saw it coming and soared forward to punch it without hesitation. The moment she made contact with it, a violent power of lightning was unleashed from the depths of the small ball, causing her to scream in pain as she was scorched and burned to a crisp before falling apart.

"That was a nice attack, Val!” Dominic praised him energetically.

“Thank you, sir,” replied Valerian humbly with a bow.

“That was indeed a splendid attack, young man,” praised Lagron much to their surprise. Seeing their reaction, the Dragon Titan asked, “What? Why are you so surprised? You think I don’t know how to praise people?”

“W-Well… you didn’t seem like that kind of a person in the past…” admitted Dominic hesitantly.

This made Lagron sigh and say, “Look. I’ve been through some tough times, but now I’ve changed. Okay? I’ve realised my mistake after being talked down by the person I took inspiration from.”

“Huh? You changed… because you were talked into changing?” Dominic asked, looking surprised. Then he decided to mock him by asking, “It’s that simple? If so, how come none of our enemies or opponents change their ways no matter how much we struggle to make them understand and realise their mistake?”

Lagron knew he was being mocked, but he held his cool and replied, “People change because they choose to change, unless they were being manipulated by an external force. I too am no different and when the person I am inspired from suddenly got angry at me and spoke to me severely in length to change, why won’t I?”

“What about our enemies?”

“They live in denial of reality and don’t care about anything that we have to say to them.”

“Maybe, a part of them is hoping for someone or something that they can relate with that came along and convinced them that they are doing the wrong thing and should just stop,” suggested Valerian hopefully.

“You believe that too, Val?” Dominic asked curiously.

The Storm Titan nodded and said, “Yes, sir. My mother always told me that there is always that one or similar kind of people that can change the actions and behaviour of somebody that will only listen to them. It’s like listening to my mother not caring one by what an outsider has to say.”

Dominic listened in silence to Valerian’s words before saying, “You make a valid point, Val. We just have to convince that girl’s master to surrender. Seems simple enough, at least.”

As if in response to his words, they heard a sinister person’s voice reverberate around them as it said, “You think it’s that simple? How bold!”

The Sword Titan gritted his teeth and shouted, “Whoever you are, you better surrender right now and give yourself up! You have no chances of winning against the joint powers of the Nine Pillars of Power!”

“The joint powers of the Nine Pillars of Power?” The sinister voice asked before letting out a chuckle as if it found that to be rather funny. “Last time I checked, I count only the three of you apart from that collapsed with two others missing and your greatest hero, the Phoenix Titan finally dead.”

Lagron’s eyebrows shot up in surprise upon hearing the assumption their enemy was in and looked towards Dominic. Catching his eyes, Dominic wordlessly signalled for him to go along with it. Understanding, Lagron decided to keep silent that the Phoenix Titan was still alive and played along by pretending that he was really dead.

“So, it was you that attacked us when we were in our weakened state!” Lagron shouted into the sky angrily.

“I should thank you for deciding to have a battle with him, otherwise he would not have been reduced to such a state, nor would I have been able to get rid of him once and for all. For that, I am very thankful for you, Dragon Titan,” the voice said as if it really appreciated their battle.

This frustrated Lagron, who decided to taught their enemy to come out of hiding.

“Ha! What a chicken you truly are! So much for acting like a total villain without a face by sending only his minions to fight us! Oh, but of course you would because you are a weak pathetic chicken of the lowest kind that probably flapped its wings angrily for many years while we were strong and proud on the surface because you were jealous of our strength and surely wanted the spotlight, so you decided to kill off the Phoenix Titan, but too bad you’re still too much of a chicken to show yourself to fight us right now, you lousy chicken! Wait till I find you so that I can grill you and eat you up like the piece of chicken that you truly are, pathetic cowardly retarded bastard!”

Once he finished, Lagron was breathing quickly while Dominic and Valerian looked at him with amazement on their faces. It seemed like even their enemy was taken aback by his words because there was complete silence for a few seconds before he finally spoke, but this time it did not seem like he was finding it funny anymore.

“I see. You think I’m a chicken from the number of times you called me. Very well. I was going to wait a bit more and enjoy the show, but looks like I have to do things my way as per usual. Let it be then.”

With that, there was a violent flash of light as an enormous amount of energy was unleashed several meters in front of them. This caused them to brace themselves and cover their eyes against the blinding light, which soon dimmed and disappeared to return the view back to normal.

They uncovered their eyes and saw that a man was hovering in mid-air wearing a dark cloak that covered his entire body and this included his face as well. For a moment, they watched him silently to see what he does and saw him move his hands and pull back the cloak covering his face to reveal what he looks like.

“Wha?!” Dominic exclaimed, looking alarmed.

Lagron’s eyes sharpened with seriousness as he exclaimed, “It’s You!”

“Yes. It’s me,” said the person, who was none other than Jagav Magrad as he smiled fiendishly at them.

Valerian saw their reaction and asked, “Do you know him?”

Before they could reply, Jagav responded to him by saying, “They know me, yes. They let me escape after all.”

While Valerian looked surprised, Lagron shouted, “You blindsided us!”

“To think we were looking all over for you only to see that you holed yourself up here of all places! I misjudged you,” lamented Dominic with a very serious look on his face. He raised his sword and pointed at him while saying, “It’s time you pay for your crimes, Jagav!”

Jagav chuckled and asked, “Jagav? Ah. You’re calling the owner of this body. I understand now.”

“What?” Dominic asked, looking suspicious.

Their enemy looked at them silent for a moment before turning to look towards Lagron before asking, “Hey, Dragon Titan. Surely, you recognise who I truly am?”

Like the others, Lagron was confused by this man’s behaviour and asked, “What are you… talking about?”

“Ah. You don’t recognise me,” said Jagav, and looked visibly displeased. Then he recovered and smiled as he said, “In that case…!”

With that, he suddenly began to unleash his power and it was so powerful and deadly that all of them were shocked. He radiated dark energy that surrounded him as he unleashed his power, which caused the wind to blow wildly all around as well as sending shock waves in all directions.

Dominic and Valerian braced themselves against this incredible power being released, but Lagron was reacting different. His eyes at opened wide to the point that his eyes were making a round circle. He was also making a horrified expression on his face that was not unexpected at all coming from him.

“How about now?” Jagav asked with a sinister smile on his face.

“You…! I-It can’t be…!” Lagron stuttered in a horrified. “The Ancient Evil!”

“Correct!” Their enemy replied, who was revealed to be the Ancient Evil that was destined to destroy the world. “It looked like you weren’t paying any attention to my energy signature earlier, so you missed it.”

“Damn! This power is… so deadly and dangerous!” Dominic expressed with a serious voice.

Suddenly, Lagron began to let out a wild scream as he began to power up and transform into his ultimate form. Then, with a violent flash of light that lasted for a few seconds before dying down, he was revealed to have changed into his Dragon Fighter Form and was ready to go all out against him.

“Lagron? What are you—?” Dominic began, but he was cut off by the Dragon Titan’s shout to them.

“Dom and Val! Transform into your maximum forms now! That is the enemy of the world, and must be defeated at any cost!”

Hearing his urgency and recognising that the enemy was the Ancient Evil that he was hearing about, Dominic wasted no time to transform into his ultimate form. He did so by spinning his sword through the air skilfully before holding it firmly in his hand with the pointed end facing down and it began to glow in a golden just as he shouted the technique name out loud.

“Dominion of the Destiny Warrior!”

In an instant, an enormous amount of energy was unleashed from him and swept the entire area, causing the wind to blow violently everywhere and send shock waves that knocked the people off their feed, finally resulting sin the ground shaking with great intensity. The light lasted for several seconds before it died and reveal a golden armoured warrior with shinning wings of steel hovering in mid-air while holding a golden blade that emitted a powerful aura.

“I’m ready,” said Dominic through the visor that covered his face by the full set golden armour.

“Right. Valerian?” Lagron asked, and they turned to look at him.

Valerian shook his head and replied, “Sorry, sirs but this is the only transformation I possess.”

“Oh. That’s okay since you are still extremely powerful in that form,” replied Dominic with a smile, and Lagron nodded in agreement.

Just then, the yehard Jagav ask, “Are you done transforming yet? It’s not like it’ll do you any good anyway?”

“Hmph! I’m not as weak I was last time that we fought… and neither are they!” Lagron replied firmly.

Their enemy chuckled and began saying, “Indeed. It’s like what you said; you were weak back then, but you are still weak even now. The only difference is that you went up by one level. That’s about it. One plus one, get it? Whereas, I’m a hundred, so think what you want to think but I—!”

He was suddenly cut off when the Dragon Titan appeared out of thin air and delivered a powerful punch straight to the side of his enemy’s face. He had moved at an incredible speed from his stationary position as it took him only a second to reach his enemy’s side before punching him. The impact was so powerful that a strong shock wave was released before Jagav was sent flying away, and he crashed through several buildings before coming to rest inside a partially collapsed building from him smashing into it.

“You talk too much,” said Lagron with a determined expression to take out the enemy of the world at any cost.