There was a momentary pause before the God of Calamity said scathingly, “Your hope is dead!”
“Maybe, but I’m not,” replied Lakshman with a small smile that confused the God.
“What?”
“I guess you don’t understand,” remarked the king from another world, and he turned towards Engraut, who looked like he was trying hard to hold in his laughter. “He understands though.”
Climax looked from one to the other before saying dully, “You’re mocking me, aren’t you? Doesn’t matter since you’re dead!”
“Just hold on a second here, God,” said Lakshman, emphasising the last word with a gleeful smile. “Who said I ever died?”
“Huh?” Climax asked, raising an eyebrow and looking surprised. “Of course, you’re dead! You were thrown into the void zone, and no one can survive in such a hard environment! Not even you!”
Lakshman nodded in agreement, but he countered with, “You’re right that I can’t survive there, but I remember what I was doing right before the portal to this world opened and summoned me here.”
There was another moment of pause before Climax exclaimed, “What?! You remember?!”
“Yes,” said Lakshman with a nod and a smile. “You see, a while ago, I was collecting my thoughts on what had happened after I fell into the void, and I remembered how dreadfully close I came to dying because I couldn’t breathe in space, and how fortunate I was for the summoning to have pulled me here to safety. That’s when I asked the others if they remember anything about their last moments before being summoned, and their response was the same: ‘I don’t remember.’”
Climax blinked at him in surprise, and Engraut looked impressed.
At that time, Natsu looked at him and asked, “Ah. So, you did remember?”
“It took me a bit,” admitted Lakshman with a sigh, “since I was on the verge of dying due to lack of air.”
“You mean oxygen,” Natsu corrected him, but Lakshman shrugged with a chuckle.
“Doesn’t matter what since most people would just call it air anyway,” he replied with a smile. Then he turned to Climax and asked, “So you see, I didn’t die. Rather, I was on the verge of dying before I got summoned here. So, I can safely say that I am still, very much, alive both in this world and in my world! As such, I do not believe my hope to live is dead!”
This shocking proclamation caused William, Vikram, Maxwell, and Martin to look up at him in surprise. Climax, on the other hand, simply smiled and looked disdainfully at him.
“In that case, let’s make sure you die this time,” and he instantly raised his hand with the intention of blasting the hero.
However, in the next moment, the God of Calamity suddenly felt as though his energy was disrupted when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned and saw that the hand beloved to Engraut, who was smiling at him as he actively used his Godly Powers to disrupt Climax’s use of powers against the heroes.
“Let go, Engraut, otherwise, you’ll suffer my wrath!” Climax demanded in a dangerous voice.
“No can do since what you’re doing is unjust,” replied Engraut calmly.
Climax gritted his teeth and glared at him while Engraut looked back at him with a pleasant expression on his face. He turned to face Lakshman and winked at him, indicating that now was their chance for the heroes to work together and fuse into a single being.
Lakshman understood the gesture and immediately said to the others, “Guys! Come on! Now’s our chance!”
While Natsu, Vikram, and William looked ready to do, but the remaining other heroes did not respond. They simply stood around or sat on the ground with a distraught expression on their faces. To Lakshman, they appeared as though their lives were suddenly meaningless after realising the way they died, and that there was no way for them to go back home unlike him.
“Hey! Come on, you guys! This isn’t the time to be drowning in misery!” Vikram snapped angrily at them.
“Vikram, be a little considerate,” said Natsu calmly. “They just found out a harsh truth all of a sudden.”
“This isn’t the time to be depressed over it!” Vikram said, and looked with concern towards the two Gods.
A moment later, Martin looked up at them with tears in his eyes and asked, “What can we do when there is no way back home?”
“My friends… My family… I can never see them again…” muttered Maxwell dreadfully.
Fred did not say anything as she knelt down while covering her face with her hands. Gram was looking down with his hair casting a dark shadow over his face to hide his expressions. Then he looked up and burst into a loud laughter that startled everyone there.
“Ah. I guess this is destiny!” He exclaimed finally, smiling again and looking at them. “I finally understand the reason I came to be here! It wasn’t because I was forced, but because I was given a second chance!”
“Gram?” Vikram asked curiously.
“I realised, Vikram, just how foolish I had been my whole life,” admitted Gram with a sad smile. “I was a prince born to be the ruler of a nation, and I worked tirelessly to meet the demands of my family, but they discarded me as if I was just a tool. I was never given an option to decide for myself what I wanted to do until now, so I often flew into a rage when things didn’t go as I expected or was expected from me. I now realise how silly I was to think like that.”
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As he finished, there was a pause before Fred slowly rose to her feet and wiped away the tears in her eyes while turning to face them.
“Gram is right. I’m actually grateful for being given the chance to come to this world when so many others simply die and disappear,” she said with a small smile. “In the past, I did live a life of fear, fearing for my safety and feeling very angry at my powerlessness to defend myself. Yet, in this world, I have the power to make a difference, help others in need, and be rewarded and even be praised for my efforts. To me, who was seeking this kind of life for so long, it feels like a dream come true.”
“But… But our home… Our families!” Martin muttered, looking around at them while Maxwell looked sad and Ward looked on in complete silence.
To that, Lakshman said sadly, “Did I mention that while I was away sleeping for ten years, my family and the many people living in our kingdom was destroyed?” They all turned to look at him in surprise as he went on to say, “When I returned and found out what had happened, it crushed me to the point that I had lost all hope and wanted to die. However, I was brought back to reality with the support of my current family; more specifically, my wives. They were the reason I still exist now, and they gave me new hope when I was lost in the dark. That’s why, instead of worrying about what can’t be changed, I decided to focus on what could be changed so that my family can live peacefully in order to not repeat what had happened to my parents during my absence.”
“Yeah…! That makes sense,” said William, and they turned to him. “My parents died when I was still a kid, and that’s all I ever remember of them basically. It’s true that I made good friends along the way, and am feeling a little vexed that I was killed in my sleep, but… I feel as though this new chance brought me to meet people whom I now consider as my new friends. So, dying and coming to this world doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers you, Martin. Rather, I only got one for you: grow up!”
“Huh?!” Martin exclaimed, blinking in surprise and looked astonished. “Grow up?”
“Yes! Grow up!” William said and repeated with a snarl. “All this time, I’ve seen you cowering with fright, being extremely nervous to do anything, and lack self-confidence in your own goddamn self! Seriously, as a warrior, it pains me to see a man behaving in such an annoying way! You’re a disappointment to your parents!”
Now this shocked Martin, who widened his eyes in alarm while others, around them, looked startled. Then the Dynamism Hero’s face suddenly contorted into rage as he glared up at the taller figure.
“You take that back!” He shouted angrily. “My parents are NOT disappointed in me! I’m NOT a disappointment! I’m not!”
“If we look back to your actions so far, then we’d only see a cowering fidgeting nervous looking guy who’s incapable of doing things with a brave face,” said William, unloading all of his feelings about Martin without pause. “Now that I think about it, maybe you were always living in the shadow of your family, who were always protecting you!”
This caused Martin to turn red in the face and become agitated as he stumbled in saying, “W-What a-are you s-saying?!”
“This makes sense! Argh! I’m jealous!” William blurted out in annoyance.
Martin looked at him bemusement while Ward said telepathically, “A growing tree cannot grow in the shadow of a larger tree.”
“When did we turn into trees?” Vikram asked, looking puzzled. “Also, William, calm down. I’m usually the one who explodes with sarcasm like that in this group.”
“I know, but I’m a warrior, and it pains me to see one of my comrades be this… this… pathetic!” William remarked, and he glanced furiously at Martin.
This enraged Martin to the point that he walked up to William and pointed a finger at him in a challenging manner.
“Fine! I’ll show you what I’m capable of! No more holding back!” He said in a firm voice.
“Now that’s more like it!” William fired back with a grin on his face.
“Huh?” Martin asked, looking bewildered.
While the rest looked amazed, Natsu and Lakshman glanced at each at seemingly the same time and smiled bitterly. They understood quickly what had gone on, with William forcefully snapping Martin out of his reverie to break out of his shell and stand on his own two feet. Even Maxwell was looking more determined now as he was seemingly saddened moment before.
“Well, there’s no loss in trying my best since this is my world now, and I’m one of its heroes chosen to defend it. I must not disappoint that post,” said Maxwell and smiled confidently at them.
As they all were smiling at one another, a sudden surge of power nearby caused them to flinch and jump back. They turned and saw the God of Calamity emitting deadly violet aura that surrounded him while the God of Energy was radiating green aura that surrounded him. At the same time, the ground began to shake as cracks quickly also began spreading in all directions.
“Let… go…!” Climax thundered.
“No!” Engraut retorted.
The Nine Heroes of Legends watched as the heated energy struggle before the two Gods escalated to the point that the entire planet started to shake. People around the world, who were aware only of the tremors occurring from somewhere on the planet, began to fear for their lives as the entire planet began to shake with great vigour.
“Oh wow! The whole planet is shaking!” Vikram said, smiling despite the danger they were all in.
“This isn’t good!” Lakshman said, looking at Engraut and noticing him becoming tired as each second ticked by. “Hurry, everyone!”
Sensing the urgency, all nine of them quickly moved away from the spot to a spot several meters away. The shaking grew stronger and stronger as Climax began to surge with incredible power while Engraut struggled with all his might to keep the God of Calamity from getting freed.
“Just a bit longer,” thought Engraut tiredly as he watched the heroes taking a stance to perform the fusion.
“This better work!” Gram said anxiously.
“It will. Trust me!” Lakshman told them, and they nodded in acceptance.
The nine stood around facing each other in the formation of a circle and started off the first step by beginning the chant with, “Fu—”
In the next moment, they switched into fighting stances and brought their fists back to look as if they were going to punch someone while continuing with the chant, saying, “—sion—”
“No, you don’t!” Climax shouted, extending his hand out with the aim of destroying the heroes for good.
In the third and last step, all nine heroes unleashed their fists at each other while shouting, “—zen!”
Their fists collided against each other’s fists at dead centre, causing a blinding flash of light to occur from it and envelop them. At the same time, the God of Calamity fired a powerful wave of destruction with the intention of destroying them. The wave soared through the air and smashed into the place where the blinding light had occurred, causing an enormous explosion to occur.
This resulted in a release of wild blowing winds that swept in all directions, made the ground shake violently, and cause everyone around the world to fear for their lives. Climax braced himself against the wind and watched as the explosion mingled with the flash of light from the fusion of the nine heroes before it steadily decreased until it completely vanished from sight.
“They’re still alive,” muttered Climax, his eyes narrowing, “but what is this? There’s just one of them, not nine.”
A moment later, a hand suddenly waved from amongst the smoke and caused the wind to carry it away to clear the view. As such, the unknown figure whom he sensed came into the bright picture, and Climax was surprised to see him. However, he instantly recognised that this was the warrior formed from the fusion of the Nine Heroes of Legends.
The unnamed fused warrior let out a light chuckle and smiled confidently towards him as he said, “Hello, God. It’s time you face the music of defeat!”