33 Rise, Stand and Fight!

"Father!" Iris shouted as she would pivot backward and bring her mallet around which by the way appeared far too large for her petite structure to wield, yet she had swung it around like it was some kind of plastic toy. Riyku would jump back, planting his feet on the flat end of the mallet as if he knew exactly what Iris was going to do, both of them in perfect sync.

'Linked with Iris Von Rosario.'

'Linked with Riyku Von Rosario.'

Two text boxes would appear one before each of them which shortly disappeared. Iris would swing her mallet around and Riyku would kick off just at the apex of the swing to drive home the momentum. His being flying straight towards Team Phantom. "Your highness!" One of the girls called out which made the male kiss his teeth and lean his body away from the oncoming male to evade the lunge. The following wind pressure would cause him to stumble back a little. A smirk would curve across Riyku's face as the jewel embedded in his glove gave off a bright light. His feet would plant against some kind of barrier and he would launch off of it heading strike back to the guy. "You gotta be kidding me." The male would growl as he brought his lance upward to clash with Riyku's Soluna blade. Since the male was unable to deflect the weapon, let alone evade particularly due to the fact to his body placement, in time his only option was to block. The force from the clash of weapons would send the male sliding back and Riyku seemed to drag it out until the two girls came from each of his sides. "I was told that Team Phantom was quick, but still..." Riyku would pivot backward to evade two bullets and a barrage of arrows. "that is quite impressive." Riyku would finish.

Thanks to his teammates, the male was able to steady himself. The two girls would regroup with him. However, during their little exchange. It seemed Team Reaper had Iris on lockdown. Dashing past her in perfect sync while slashing away. Iris would deflect each strike that came here way, waiting for an opening. Her patience was rewarded when she saw the Leader charge straight at her, bringing his sickle from above. Iris would dash straight at him bringing her mallet from below to smash it right against the tip of the curved blade. The force of her strike would send the weapon upward throwing the man off balance. Much like her father, she would not be merciful when it came to these kinds of openings. Twirling the shaft of the mallet in her hand with the motion of her swing, she would jam the butt of the shaft straight into the man. Still using the same momentum, as well as applying more strength she would lift the male off the ground only to heave him overhead and slam him back into the ground on the other side of her. She would twist the shaft of her mallet for good measure which caused the male to cough out whatever air he had left from when his back had slammed into the ground the first time. "Wha? What's with this chick!?" One of the goons from Team Reaper growled out. "Forget it, we can't win in a test of strength. I'm using them." The other stated as she began to shuffle into his pocket for something. "Idiot! Not without the boss' orders!" The first one exclaimed, which caught Iris' attention. Although, it was already too late. The man had already tossed some kind of small orbs from his pocket which bounced along the ground beside Iris.

"Iris!" One of her teammates called out the moment several explosions would occur. Riyku's eyes shifted from Team Phantom over to Iris who was clouded by smoke which was kicked up from the explosion. "Idiot! Those were meant for Team Phantom!" The first guy shouted at his teammate who shook his head. "We wouldn't be able to deal with Team Phantom if we all died here. Now would we!?" The second guy exclaimed. "Eyes here, abnormal." A feminine voice caught Riyku's attention, not because it called out to him, but because of how close it sounded. When he set his sights back on Team Phantom one of the girls had been in front of his face. A grime expression would brew on his face as she stepped to the side to avoid a slash attack, which was followed up with another and another and another. "Gunblades? No... Gun Daggers..." Riyku would growl as he took note of weapons. "Wow, someone has a keen eye." The woman replied with a wink. "Can I have him, your Highness?" The girl called out to her teammate while pushing Riyku back. He was completely on the evasive. He had no opportunity to even bring his weapon around, and using any kind of combustion or barrier would probably not work here either.

"Naomi, what is with you and getting involved with questionable figures!?" The second girl called out, though her voice caused Riyku to look behind him for a split second. "When the hell did she get there?!" Riyku muttered as he noticed she had been charging up some kind of attack. "Try to live, hot stuff." The girl winked at him as she pivoted backward the moment the second girl released whatever charged up attack she had built. Which in truth looked like some kind of power shot. The arrow was massive in size and the immense amount of mana that was pouring from it was nothing to scoff at either. "Guess I'll have to use... Wait!" Riyku's eyes would widen when he noticed where the trajectory of the arrow was headed. He had been placed right in between the archer and Iris, so if he dodged this attack, Iris would get hit by it. "Damn it..." The male would grit his teeth, quickly he would spin around and take to a guarded stance. The moment the arrow hit the blunt side of his Soluna Blade he could feel himself being steadily pushed back. His iris shifted to his Shield Point gauge seeing that the extra Shield Points he gained were being put to good use right now.

"Your highness!" One of the girls shouted as if to signal the male to commence something. "Already on it." The male replied, the voice seeming to come from directly above him, but nowhere near him. For a moment his eyes would drift skyward only bare witness to a second charge attack which had just been released and was heading his way. This one looked more like a spear than an arrow and unlike the arrow that looked like it was basked in flames, the spear looked like it was basked in lightning. That was the only difference in the two attacks, both were massive in size and immense in power compared to the mana that had leaked from them. "Damn it." Riyku would growl as he narrowed his eyes. The jewel embedded in his glove began to glow brightly, and a black aura began to engulf that hand.

'Skill acquired! Elemental Defense Lvl. 8'

Another text box appeared upon his UI which went away after a moment. Removing his hand from the blunt side of his Soluna Blade he would grasp the hilt so he could swap his grip of the blade to hold it like a dagger instead of holding it like an actual sword. Using the forearm of the hand he was holding his Soluna Blade with to press against the blunt side of the weapon. He would use the hand that was engulfed in a black aura to reach out for the spear overhead and caught it. Gritting his teeth from the pain he was not slammed in his place. His feet digging into the ground as he growled out in pain.

"Oi, oi, oi! What kind of combi-attack is that?" One of the men from Team Reaper inquired, having just been watching. "Not sure, but that guy is taking both attacks head-on."The second guy would remark. The young man had one knee against the ground, panting heavily while the archer would regroup with him panting heavily. "Your Highness, are you alright!?" The girl inquired. "I am fine, I just overexerted myself with that attack." He replied to his teammate. "Still... He isn't going down." The young man narrowed his eyes. "Naomi, do it." He looked to his teammate who smirked. "Alright!" She would dash around behind Riyku and aim both of her Gundaggers at the male. Holding the trigger she would steadily gather mana into her weapons.

"Are you serious!?" Rick exclaimed! "Riyku..." Mel would mutter softly as she clasped her hands together as if praying for his safety. "Hey... come on that is a bit overkill. Don't you think?" Jessica seemed to have a worried expression as well. "This doesn't look good," Ion added while Nora would narrow her eyes.

"Are they trying to kill him!?" Skylar shouted. "Skylar..." Mina would mutter as she saw the worry and concern on his face, though even she felt the same as he did. Her eyes would return to the battlefield.

"If you live from this, I'll be sure to go on a date with you, hot stuff." Naomi would tease as she released the triggers of her weapons which unleashed a massive blast that was heading straight for Riyku's back. Riyku would release a heavy breath as he closed his eyes. "Heh, so this is it..." He muttered.

[I told you. You were not strong enough to protect anyone. Not with your present power, not in your present state, and not with your present mindset. You do not have enough hatred. You do not loathe them enough. Therefore, you do not have enough power. However, it does not have to be this way. You can come out on top. Accept my deal and I'll remove all your limiters.] Harvester's voice poured forth into his mind.

Riyku's eyes would widen. "I..." He would grit his teeth. "I..." He would growl. 'Don't!' "Don't!" Two voices shouted out to him. One of them being Seraphina's and the other being Iris who had her back against her Father's. "Iris!, When did you?" Riyku shifted his eyes towards Iris who had her mallet up in a defensive position. "No! You need to move, get out of the way!" Riyku shouted to Iris who smiled even though her body was bruised up from the excessive explosions earlier. "Nope. I will protect you this time, Father." Iris would state as gray aura engulfed her body. "Rosario Style... Steel Rose." She muttered, and her feet seemed to sink into the ground. The blast that smashed into her mallet would not push her back but instead be stopped there. However... the damage Iris was receiving seemed to be the price to pay. One could hear steady cracking coming from her body which caused her to wench in pain.

"Do not cry, Father. Do not allow rage to consume you, and do not allow darkness to swallow you. Father, I know you will find me. You promised we would never be apart after all." Iris stated which caught Riyku's attention. "Stop...." He muttered weakly. "It will be okay, Father. So, don't cry." Iris stated. "Stop it..." Riyku muttered weakly, his teeth grit firmly. "Promise me one more thing, that you will one day show me that bright smile of yours," Iris stated and with the snap of her weapon the blast would engulf her whole. "No! Iris!" Riyku shouted aloud and that was when everything around him seemed to come to a standstill. "What!?" His expression suddenly became that of surprise. "Wait... this is..." His eyes shifted around rapidly, taking note of how everything seemed frozen in place.

'Chess Master Activated. Time will resume a normal pace once you take action.'

A text box appeared upon his UI before him which caused him to release a breath of relief. "For now I have some time, but..." His eyes shifted back to see that Iris weapon had completely shattered and she was about to take the full force of the blast. Meanwhile, the other two attacks did not seem to show any sign of dying down their power output. "What can I? I can't use blink without release one of these to take Iris with me. Shadow Step? No... I wouldn't have enough time either. Is there anything I can do?" He seemed full of despair.

[There is. Accept my deal. Allow me to unlock your limiters and in return, you get out of this predicament.] Harvester stated with a sneer. 'Don't listen to him Riyku. There is a way out of this. Where both you and Iris can live!' Seraphina shouted. [Oh? Do tell him then. Even I would like to know.] Harvester responded. 'I... I can take them both into the shadow. Since they are linked together, I can do it.' Seraphina would respond. "That's good!" Riyku shouted as if filled with hope. [True, you can. However... you will be out of commission afterward.] Harvester replied. "What? What is he talking about?" Riyku inquired with a concerned look which caused Seraphina to sigh heavily. 'It's nothing serious. I just can't freely take more than one person into the shadows without expending Diabolical Energy relative to the extra person. And since Iris and you possess around the same amount of life essence, one of you will consume the entirety of my energy to do so. That's all.' Seraphina replied, though the way she responded made it seem like she was hiding something. "So it's a one-way ticket?" Riyku inquired. 'Yes. Afterward, I will need to rest. But... If it keeps you from accepting Harvester's deal. I will do so.' Seraphina stated firmly. For a moment, Riyku seemed reluctant to accept her suggestion, but after a moment he gave in. "Fine. Do it. Just make sure you wake up! Understood!" Riyku exclaimed and Seraphina would accept with a cute noise. It was then then that Riyku's shadow would expand to connect with Iris which caused time to resume and both of them fell into the pool of shadow which left the three power attacks to collide with one another.

"Iris!" Both girls of Team IVS shouted. "Riyku!" Everyone of Riyku's friends that were watching the battle seemed to call out. "Riyku..." Racheal who was watching the battle aboard some cruise-ship would cover her mouth as she bore witness to what had happened as well. "Yo, did they get them?" One of the guys from Team Reaper inquire. "Not sure. I can't tell because of the smoke that was kicked up from the attack." The other replied.

"Impossible!" The young male shouted. "No way..." The archer would remark. A whistle came from Naomi. "Damn... he's tough." She stated though even her body seemed as exhausted as her teammates did. The smoke had cleared out enough to make out that Riyku and Iris were okay. "They're okay!" Mina shouted. "Incredible..." Nora would state.

"F-Father?" Iris who was in Riyku's arms would look up at him weakly. "Seraphina is with you? Isn't she... Haha... She knows that using that skill consumes your life force... So why would she..." Iris coughed out blood which held the same color at Riyku's blood. "She what!?" Riyku's eyes went wide. "She didn't tell you? Silly... girl. She'll do anything to... make you happy. Father... I..." Riyku would shake his head to Iris. "Rest," Riyku stated which caused Iris to nod softly. "Just... be sure... to win..." She seemed to go unconscious after that. Iris's teammates would rush up to the both of them. "I-is she okay?" One of them asked. "She is resting. Please... take to the far ends of the field." Riyku stated and even though his eyes were masked by the bangs of his raven color hair one could tell that his crimson orbs were filled with rage. "O-okay. Come on. Lasha." One of the girls told the other as crouched down so that she could carry Iris. Alice would take Iris from Riyku's arms and place her against Lasha's back who would stand up. The three of them would then make their way away from the battle. "Oh hell no, where do you think you are--" One of Team Reaper's members had stood in their path; however, his head went flying before anyone knew what had happened. Riyku would be standing between the corpse that was falling to the ground and Team IVS. "Go," Riyku stated, as he rested the tip of the blade against the ground, holding it in reverse grip once again. "Okay!" Alice exclaimed before they raced off.

"Team Reaper, Team Phantom..." Riyku would tear off his black shirt which was covered in dust and tatters, revealing his well-built body which was also covered in a magnitude of scars. "I will be your opponent." He would declare, his bangs still covering his eyes as he tossed his shirt aside. "Wait.. wait.. wait..." The last member of Team Reaper seemed stunned. "Y-you... you haven't taken any damage!?" He shouted having noticed that the man was indeed unscathed through all of that. "Impossible!" The Archer shouted. "What is this madness?" The young male rhetorically stated. "I'll be damned, he isn't only tough, but extremely hot too. That settles it, he's mine." Naomi stated before dashing towards Riyku with some kind of blinding speed. "Wait, Naomi! It's dangerous!" The archer shouted, yet the woman did no slowdown. Instead, she picked up speed, her body taking over with a green aura during the process. "Hehe, keep up!" Naomi teased, her body seemed to leave after images as she raced around Riyku before eventually dashing towards him.

Though to her surprise, her thrust did not clash with flesh, but instead steel. She felt her weapon being tossed aside by another and then the sight of black leather consumed her vision. "Wha?" BOOM! An explosion parted from Riyku's gloved hand which sent Naomi flying away and bouncing against the ground. "Sister!" The Archer shouted as she raced towards Naomi. "Bastard!" The young male would kick-off of his feet and charge at Riyku, thrusting his with great speed and precision. Riyku would side-step the thrust only to bring his free hand to the young man's face and slam him so hard into the ground that it would crater him. He would then slam the sole of his foot against the male's chest and fling him back to his teammates as if he kicking him towards them. "T-That's... Not possible..." The final member of Team Reaper would gulp heavily. "No one can withstand such a powerful attack and come out unscathed. Not even my boss." The guy stated which caused Riyku to shift his hidden crimson orbs towards the man. "Is that so? I don't think it's impossible." He would steady approach the guy, dragging the blade against the ground with him. "It's a matter of one's strength, one's power..." Riyku would continue as the guy steadily began to back away from him.

"After all... You are all nothing more than filthy human trash." Riyku would flash his dim glowing crimson orbs to the guy which caused him to lose feeling in his legs and fell to the ground.

'Intimidation: Father's Wrath Activated.'

Bringing the blade around he would cut off the head of the male who seemed unable to do anything, but watch as his life was taken. He would turn away from the lifeless limp body which fell to the ground and set his eyes upon Team Phantom who seemed to have finished recovering. "There... I used the last of my mana, but you two are good to go." The archer said as Naomi sat up and the young male did. "Thanks, Sis," Naomi replied as she pushed herself onto her feet. "Thanks, Aima." The young male stated as he got up himself. "Just, don't rush in there again." Aima would reply with a heavy breath. "Yeah, I know. I won't lose composure again." The young male replied. "Same. It seems like he has powered up." Naomi would remark. "Yeah, I know. Something tells me, this is not even his full power either. It's like he is holding back." The young man would remark which caused the girls to sigh heavily. "Do you think we can win, your highness?" Aima inquired and the male would shake his head. "I am not so sure anymore. Our combi-skill can only work once since you used up the last of your mana. Even if I did do it with Naomi, he will be sure to have a countermeasure." The male explained.

"Are you three done?" Riyku called out to them which caught their attention, they had not realized how close he had gotten to them. "Damn... is their really no way to beat him?" The male muttered to himself. "Naomi, Aima... let's give this all we have left even if it means we fall here!" The young male shouted and the two girls would nod. Naomi would charge forward, while Aima seemed to prepare an arrow. The young male would take his position as well and follow up shortly after Naomi. "Good. Come." Riyku would narrow his eyes as he waited for Naomi to approach. His iris' shifting toward his status bar. His fatigue was dangerously low, his shield points nearly empty and his mana had been fully consumed when it came to stopping the spear attack earlier. This was the worst possible situation to be in and yet... he was fairly confident that he could come out on top without having to rely on any of his forms or Harvester for that matter. Bringing his blade around he would deflect the first slash Naomi through his way, using the momentum of his swing he would spin underneath the second slash that came his way using his foot to sweep the woman's feet from under her before slamming the palm of his free hand against the woman which sent her away. Next came the young male who had begun to thrust several strikes his way. Effortless, Riyku would dodge each one. That was until Aima released a barrage of arrows that flew over the young male and would rain down upon. The young man would pivot backward while Riyku brought up his Soluna Blade, spun it around rapidly to tear down the arrows before slamming the weapon the ground and dashing after the young male. "Shit!" The male shouted as he saw Riyku prepare to bring up his weapon, so the man would defend with his own; however, the blade seemed to cut the pole in two and gripping the hilt with both hands now, Riyku would bring the Soluna Blade downward. "This is it," Riyku stated. "Noah!" Both girls of Team Phantom shouted simultaneously.

"RIYKU VON ROSARIO!" A rage-filled voice called out from the other side of the battlefield which stopped Riyku from cutting the man down. His eyes hastily shifted towards the voice and his eyes shot wide open. "STOP!" Riyku shouted as he quickly pivoted on his heel to charge towards the Team Leader of Reaper who was holding Iris off the ground by the neck. Lasha and Alice seemed to have been taken out by this man since they were laying on the ground beside him. "DONT!" Riyku shouted as he tried to reach them in time, but... the distance was too far. The man would release Iris and bring his weapon around to pierce the curved blade of his sick through the woman's body. "NOOOOO!" Riyku shouted out, his pace slowed down before he dropped his blade and fell to his knees. The man falling into a fit of laughter. "That was payback for killing my men." The man would fling Iris from his blade and steadily approach Riyku. "Team Phantom, let's finish this up. Let's kill this fool and we settle this. Though, I am no fool myself. I'll settle for being knocked out and you can take the win." The man called out which caused Noah, Naomi, and Aima to look at him with a disgusted gare.

"Why... why couldn't I protect her...." Riyku muttered, looking at his hands. "Was I not strong enough..." He continued. "Why can't I save anyone!?" He shouted through grit teeth. Tears dropping from his cheeks rapidly.

[I told you. You are too weak to protect anyone. Everything will slip through your fingers. Everything will be taken from you. Now, you are on the brink of death. You have no strength left to fight. Will you accept defeat?] Harvester's voice called out.

[What will you do? You are going to be killed and it is all your fault for being completely weak. That is why you lose everything.] Harvester would add which caused Riyku to growl.

[You know what to do. Accept it, accept me. Unleash it, now.... call out my name.] Harvester edged him on.

A growl would erupt from Riyku's body and release in the form of a beastly roar as he shouted, "HARVESTER!"