"You were sealed away and your powers were taken away from you. But, you didn't receive your powers back. In fact, you're significantly weaker than when you were sealed," Zurgast said as he smiled obnoxiously.
'What do you know? I suppose he knows,' Akira said to himself as he smirked.
'Akira's weaker than when he was sealed?' Asahi questioned to himself. 'That makes a lot of sense...'
'Even if that is the case, he's still pretty powerful. He managed the flatten the village in seconds. How could Zurgast possibly beat him?' Obarihime questioned herself.
"Your siblings, also known as the 7 demon king candidates, took your powers away when they sealed you," claimed Zurgast. "You were only left with your frost ability."
"And, unfortunately for you, frost doesn't affect us. Our fur is so versatile, that even a blizzard won't do any harm to a newborn baby," Kurtis added.
"It's over. Tonight is the night that somebody dies and that somebody is you, Akira Mephistopheles," Zurgast said as he pointed at Akira.
"I don't need my old powers to kill you insects. You are looking at a deity and I will be sure to pass down my divine punishment tenfold," Akira retorted as he wore a menacingly serious expression.
"You won't do anything of the sort," Kurtis said as he snapped his fingers.
One minotaur dragged Obarihime and Asahi by their rope and handed it to Kurtis, who held it and pulled out his sword.
As he placed the blade on Obarihime's neck, he stared at Akira with a serious expression.
"Unless you want these two to die, you won't do a single thing."
"Please. They're pretty expandable. I won't stop myself from killing you just because—"
Before Akira could finish his sentence, Kurtis spun his blade around and swung it. As he did, Obarihime stood still, her hands shaking. Then, a few inches of her hair fell on the ground.
"Don't. Move," Kurtis ordered.
Akira sighed and stared at the minotaurs. Then, they slowly approached the village, knowing that Akira wouldn't do anything reckless.
'If he had threatened to kill the child, I wouldn't have cared less. But, the bastard used Obarihime. I need her alive for the perfect offspring...' Akira told himself as he watched the minotaurs approach.
He sighed and searched the pocket inside his jacket, pulling out a small, rusted nail with a black stain on its tip.
He inspected the nail and narrowed his eyes. 'Can't believe I have to resort to using this...'
Akira charged the nail with his mana, a golden energy funneling through his body and onto the object.
Then, he plunged the nail onto the pulse of his wrist, wincing as blood flowed from the nail.
'I just need to buy myself a few seconds until activation...'
Zurgast noticed Akira's sudden change of expression and halted his advance. "Kurtis, with me."
Without asking any further questions, Kurtis pulled out his war hammer while Zurgast put on his spiked gauntlets.
The duo then ran towards Akira, their bodies covered in lightning and their smiles wide with pride.
Within a few split seconds, they had closed the gap between them and Akira.
Likewise, Akira had already curled his hands in preparation for cutting the air.
With a swift and wide arc, Akira cut through the air, but Kurtis evaded by a hair's breadth and swung his hammer with a loud scream.
Akira lowered his body the dodge but Zurgast saw that as an opening and rained down his fists onto Akira's chest.
In a second alone, Akira was hit 3 times, his throat choking and back aching from the impact.
Zurgast wastes no time and immediately grabbed Akira by the neck, dragged him across the ground and tossed him into the town.
Akira collapses into a building, tearing it down and making Zurgast chuckle.
"What's going on?" Asahi wondered. "Isn't Akira supposed to be at least a little stronger than this?"
Obarihime closed her eyes and began silently praying.
Not for herself, but for Asahi and her people. Unknowingly, Akira's name popped up in her head and she found herself praying for him as well.
'Please, help him help us...'
"Hahahahaha!"
Zurgast and Kurtis immediately froze after Akira's howling cackle. The herd also stopped their approach after hearing his voice.
Then it happened.
"No way..." Zurgast noticed a massive change in power between him and Akira.
A power gap so massive that not even the entirety of his army could even come close to countering.
He turned towards his bandits, his eyes narrowed and lightning crackling through his eyes. "Use your magic and attack Akira!"
Without abandoning their posts, the bandits faxed their palms towards the broken house and began gathering their mana.
With their war cry, they blasted Akira with a large barrage of thundering lightning, the ground trembling and sky brightening.
Or, so they thought.
While they charged their lightning attack, Akira appeared through the debris and faced his palm towards the attack.
With a confident smirk, he announced, "Absolute Cancel."
Akira's attack enveloped the entire herd of the minotaurs. As it did, Obarihime hugged Asahi tightly, which instinctively told him to hug her back and shut his eyes.
Akira's attack nullified the minotaurs' spell, forcing them into a state of confusion as they glanced at each other.
"Again!" Zurgast ordered!
'It's useless...' Kurtis said to himself as his brethren charged the lightning spell once more and shot it at Akira.
This time, Akira took a deep breath and blew his frosted breath, which collided with the lightning and created a few seconds of mist.
As it cleared up, the minotaurs saw a frozen thunderbolt, shaped exactly like a leafless tree.
Before they even had time to process what had just happened, Akira swung his arm towards the minotaurs. From the ground, a giant vine grew and charged for the herd.
One by one, two by two, three by three, the herd of minotaurs fell to the vine spell. Akira wore a sinister grin as he mercilessly murdered the minotaurs before him.
"Stop that!" a bandit cautioned as he grabbed Obarihime and placed a knife across her neck.
"Nice try, insect," Akira said as he pointed a finger gun as him.
After shooting him, the bandit's vision became disoriented. Then, Akira appeared in front of him and slapped him.
The slap didn't seem to be that hard, but from the way his head spun, that eventually caused his head to pop out of his body, it was clear that the attack was indeed powerful.
He quickly placed his hand on the ground and faced Zurgast, who wore a terrified expression, and shook the ground.
With no time wasted, chains spewed from the ground and enveloped the remaining minotaurs.
Akira stood up and walked to Zurgast, who didn't even bother to struggle as he knew that he was about to die, and stood directly in front of him.
"This is the difference between a god and an insect. May God be merciful in your next incarnation, because I sure as hell won't be," he said as he snapped his fingers.
When he did, the chains surrounding the minotaurs squeezed their faces and bodies, painting the path red.
Akira glanced at the puddles if blood around him and took a deep breath.
He lifted the wrist with the implanted nail and pulled it out.
As soon as he did, he felt a sharp pain on his chest, as if he had been stabbed a hundred times over.
Veins popped out of his arms, his eyes reddened and his mouth tasted like metal.
He bent over and coughed up blood, breathing in deeply as he caught his breath. Slowly, his heart returned to normal.
The veins disappeared and his eyes were clear once more.
"Fucking hell... I should refrain from using the nails of subjugation... I only have 2 left. They should be used more sparingly."
He opened and closed his palm. The surge of energy had disappeared, completely vanished, almost as if it was never there. Akira shook his head and walked over to Asahi and Obarihime.
Akira untied the both of them, his mind racing as he constantly glanced at the wound on his wrist.
He then turned his attention to Asahi and Obarihime, who looked at him with expressions he hasn't seen from them before.
Obarihime's gaze was gentle for once and Asahi had clear admiration written all over his face. Akira crouched in front of them and smiled gently.
"We've been expecting you two," he said in a gentle voice. "Ruri's been especially worried about you, Asahi."
They did not give him a response. Instead, they continued looking at him while they held each other's hands. Akira sighed and gently placed his hand on Obarihime's head, gently petting her.
"I saw you protecting Asahi while I took care of business."
"Don't try to sugarcoat what you said this afternoon," Obarihime said as she looked away, her eyes glassy and nose red. "I'm useless, aren't I?"
"And yet, you put Asahi's life above your own. If that isn't selfless and useful, I don't know what is," Akira replied as he lifted Asahi and carried him in his arms.
Obarihime looked into his eyes and hers began sparkling as she did.
"... I was hoping... that you'd help us... Thanks... for not abandoning us..." Obarihime said as she acted bashful and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Huh? I didn't do this for you personally," Akira retorted.
"I know, but still. I'm glad you could help us," Obarihime said as she stood up. "Once again, thank you," she added with a soft smile on her face.
Akira brought his face closer to Obarihime's, making her cheeks reddened as he came closer, and whispered, "If you insist that you're grateful, perhaps you and I should spend some... alone time together."
Obarihime felt her face burning up and embarassment welling up as she heard Akira's words. With a smile of his own, Akira turned his back and walked away.
'A child?! He wants me to give him a child?! That's what he meant, right?! But...!' Obarihime said to herself as she fanned her face with her hand. 'I can't let him get to me like that! He's just joking! Just joking!'
With that thought out of her mind, she followed behind Akira and closed the gates, putting the events of the night to a close.