He Saves Gods as a Man

Empire

My name is Mah Ye Ling.

Last son of the Mah Clan.

The thirteenth holder of the Hinokami Dogma Bargain, and the second Hinokami to ever unlock Stage Four.

And to my little sister, the strongest person in the world.

But Hakah...

In truth, I am not the amazing big brother you envisioned me to be.

Every time I came home, I would always force that sickly smile on my face to make sure you wouldn't have to worry.

In truth, I am not okay.

I've always deceived you in an attempt to protect you from what I was really feeling, because if the one person you had in this world crumbled, so would you.

And so, I lied.

I lied that I was fine.

I lied that I was having fun in school.

I lied that I enjoyed being in New Ulysses.

And I lied about having good friends.

That smile that you saw every day when I came home to take you out to New Ulysses and show you around the shops in the mall...

That smile was all fake.

And I guess that night, when my flames went out of control, you saw for yourself, just how not okay I was. And I thought you had died.

So I don't blame you for having such warped views on the world, for being so broken.

It's okay.

You're not the bad person in this story, you're not the villain.

The real villain is me for letting you become like this...

I sat in front of an unconscious Marcela Greene. One of the last survivors of Squad Four.

"Still comatose?" I asked.

Rui slowly removed a damp cloth off of her forehead.

"Not so much as that. I think... Marcela has lost the will to live."

I clenched my fist.

She had lost Lewis. Matt was comatose. And Maika was dead.

She basically had no one.

And now we learned that there was a whole group of guys even stronger than Danny.

That man with the guns... he worked for Hakah. He had to be. When Floki assessed Marcela, it showed she was under a mind fog spell, something that only Susanoo users could use. Meaning it was Hakah who abducted her to do whatever messed up stuff she wanted her to do.

When I arrived to save Marcela, Hakah was speaking to the man, and when I fought him, Floki had told me that the man was already drained from battle.

Yet I still couldn't put him down with Stage Four.

Meaning this man... surpassed Danny by levels of power.

I closed my eyes, as I slowly got up.

As long as Hakah was around in this world, more people would just end up getting hurt. She was clearly twisted now. There was no one to blame but myself, so in the end, it would have to be me to either put her down for good or somehow save her from herself.

But...

I looked at my hand. The red tattoos that decorated it momentarily flashed blue. I couldn't tell if it was my imagination, nor did I care anymore.

Goh goh! I'm scared! What is happening! It's hot... it hurts! MAMA! BABA! Goh goh is burning! Goh goh is burning!!!

I choked back a sob, my chest welled up in pain.

What kind of big brother would do that to the little sister who admired him so much?

"Yeling, this... this isn't your fault. Your sister chose this path of destruction." Rui tried to reassure me.

"Yet it was me who influenced her. When I was Tidalflame, she watched me, almost as if she were my biggest fan. Every Elimination Operation I took part in, she watched it all. Seeing me kill people made her happy. I understand you're trying to make me feel better, Rui, but..."

I sighed. I didn't know what else to say.

"What are you going to do now?" Rui asked.

"I don't know."

Rui gave me an empathic expression.

"Maybe you should take a few steps back to collect yourself. This has to be a huge shock to you. I don't need my evo to see that. If you try to do anything now, you'll make rash decisions and it'll become worse. Maybe just take it easy, okay?"

I nodded, as I left the med-bay and walked out of the hideout.

I had told Shia, Inoko, and Shen that I wasn't feeling well. They decided to give me space.

The sun was setting and it was making nice colours in the sky.

If Hakah was around, I would have grabbed her wrist and ran after the sunset, with her trailing behind.

She would have laughed wildly, telling me to slow down as she would lie on the grass and appreciate the view. Or sit on the bench next to me.

The clouds had turned purple and orange. Her favourite colours.

Looking at the clouds used to give me peace of mind, but now looking at them reminded me of Susanoo.

Goh goh is supposed to be stronger than me. Because he is my hero. The hero I love who always protects me and loves me. Tidalflame being weaker than me and the rest of the Inner Shadows is not right. I couldn't accept that. So I made Yuyan destroy Contingency Initiative and Taras Pax to make you stronger by force. And now you are Stage Four just like me.

These Inner Shadows... it had to be an organization. And the way Hakah phrased it, it seemed like she was part of something bigger. "Rest of the Inner Shadows" made me believe there were more powerhouses who shared similar strength to her. And if that was true, and they had bad intentions...

Did I have the strength to stop them?

"Heya!"

I jumped in fright.

"What the-"

I spun around, to see a familiar five foot one high schooler... well. Ex-high schooler, with her hands behind her back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Shia said, as she sat next to me.

"How's Inoko and Shen?" I asked.

"Are you seriously thinking about them instead of yourself?" Shia replied.

"What else is there to think about, Shia. My little sister is on the loose and I don't have the strength to stop her. There's so much shit piled up on my plate and I'm overwhelmed. Rui tells me to take a break, so that's what I'll do I guess."

"Lie down on your stomach for me."

"Ummm... why?"

"Just do it."

I lay on the grass, my back exposed.

"Listen. This better not be a prank."

"I'm not going to do anything perverted, Old Man Yeling. You're not my type anyway."

"So you came all this way to insult me? What gives?"

Suddenly, a pair of hands were placed on my back, and a rush of relief surged through me.

"What are you-"

"I'm easing out the stress in your joints. And knots in your back that have developed. You're tense everywhere. I learned these massage techniques from when I wanted to impress Sensei."

"Ah."

"It's working, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"Yeling... you know, from the first day I met you, you've always been the same."

"How so?"

"You always beat yourself up, thinking the solution to all problems it to load it all on yourself. And by doing so, you think all the pain will go to you and not to the people around you, right?"

"Ah... now that you phrase it like that..."

Shia stood in front of me.

"I hate that about you."

My heart suddenly hurt.

"Wha- what? Where is this coming from?"

Shia pointed at my chest.

"Do you think we're okay with you taking all the burden on yourself? Do you think by being the only one suffering that we'll all magically be okay with it? The more you hurt yourself, the more we get hurt too. Maybe you never realized it. When I saw you get taken by the Dogma that day. What that Tidalflame persona said to you and how you took it to heart. And when you came back, missing an eye and a finger..."

Shia's voice broke.

"You would throw your own life for another's sake. I can't be friends with someone like that..."

"What do you want me to do then, Shia? There is no way I can just let you guys go into the fray-"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I want to help you, and be by your side. Even if I am just fodder, I can stay alive. And I want you to do the same. I had so many adventurers planned for us. But none of that would be worth anything if you died today! All because you gave in to what life threw at you!"

Shia held out her pinky.

"That pinky promise you made. Are you really going to break it?"

A gasp escaped me.

She remembered.

Shia's teeth were clenched, and it looked like she was trying her best not to cry.

Had I been putting her through this much... this entire time?

"Let me share your pain. Please, Yeling. As your friend."

The tension left my body.

I wanted to say some words of gratitude...

But I didn't know what to say.

I never had someone care this much about me before.

At least not in a twisted way.

"Shi-"

I stopped. Floki was going crazy.

"What the-"

"DODGE! YELING!" Shia suddenly shouted, as her body sparked with green electricity, pushing the two of us away.

An arrow was embedded on the grass from where I stood.

"What the-"

Shia and I spun around, to see a woman standing in the distance. She looked like a hunter. From the way she was dressed, a black sports bra with straps and black leggings, with hunter boots, paired with a animal hide shoulder plate, she seemed to be highly agile.

"Floki, Status Scan."

A magical circle appeared in front of my golden cybernetic eye implant, as the woman's figure became more accentuated.

She looked...

Intimidating.

I could barely see her face from within her black hood, and her mouth was covered by a grey strap. But the way she was standing boasted confidence and composure.

Like an assassin.

"Yeling!" Shia shouted, as she summoned a storm of swords, which chased after the woman.

But the lady simply took out dozens of arrows from her quiver, and black and blue energy wreathed over it.

"Thirteenth Hinokami Yeling Mah. My master seeks you." The woman said, as she fired a massive storm of black arrows, completely disintegrating Shia's swords, and swarming at the two of us.

"Shit!" I shouted, as I held out my hand. My body burst into a violent red flame.

Level 1 Hinokami Stage Two: Inverse Monsoon Release

A massive burst of flame fought back against the arrows, as the woman narrowed her eyes.

"You're holding back against a superior opponent. Your arrogance has deluded you."

"What?" I gasped, as suddenly, the woman appeared in front of me in a black and blue blur. Her cold expressionless green eyes, glinting with murderous intent.

I couldn't even register her movements. She was too fast.

I never encountered someone like this since...

Since Danny.

Level 2 Intangibility

I turned into a red wisp, but the woman didn't attack. As if she knew I would do that.

She made me waste my stamina on an unnecessary action.

The huntress spun around and created a black portal, absorbing the hailstorm of spears and swords Shia was throwing her way. Those reflexes... couldn't have been human.

"Run, Yeling! I think she's after you!" Shia shouted.

I blasted backwards, but the assassin was coming after me with that same ridiculous speed.

I had to go Stage Four. I had no choice.

But to transform took time, and time was something I just didn't have. Not against someone this fast.

I was wrong.

She wasn't anything like Danny.

She was...

Far worse.

The woman disappeared into a black blur again, as I spun around, frantically trying to find her. It was like she just blinked out of the face of the Earth.

"Get away from him!" Shia shouted, as a massive green golem appeared, Rainwater and Shen's power towering over the assassin. The golem smashed its fist into the ground, but the woman dodged.

The assassin leapt into the air, crossing her legs and drew her bow, which began to vibrate viciously.

Shia gave me an opening. I had to use it.

"RAAAAAAH!" I roared.

Level 1 Hinokami Stage Four - Cobalt Phoenix Assimilation

I transformed into my demonic angelic form, as I blasted to her location.

She couldn't do anything now.

Caught between Shia's golem rampage, and between a Stage Four bull rush.

If she was trying to capture me, she couldn't kill me.

But if she didn't aim her bow at me, she would risk being hit.

"Go, SHIA!" I yelled, as Shia summoned a massive blade.

"TATSU!" I roared, as the hybrid longsword katana appeared in my hand.

Rain Style Kenjutsu Form 1: DEVIL SURFACE SLASH

I swung the katana, delivering Shen's Kenjutsu style, combined over the countless warriors who challenged him in the millennia that he had lived in seclusion.

There was no way...

But...

The woman was unfazed.

And suddenly, her body shifted, turning and flipping until her legs wrapped around the sides of my head.

"Wha-?!"

The lady spun midair, as my Surface Slash went haywire, slashing and severing a nearby mountain in half.

"Yeling!" Shia yelled, as her sword was moments away from decapitating the lady, but the huntress had used the spin and moment to position her arrow which had now fully charged.

The woman let loose, as a massive black blast of darkness smashed into Shia's golem and knocking her out unconscious.

"SHIA!" I screamed, as the woman continued spinning and slamming me into the ground with the same momentum I had used to charge her with, but added with her flips and the arrow's attack.

I coughed out blood as everything went blurry.

The woman stood above me, slowly taking off her hood and her mask, revealing a beautiful face, and choppy, medium length hair, giving me tomboy vibes.

Her makeup made her deadpan face look even scarier.

"Master Hal seeks you."

I tried to get to my feet, but the woman stomped her boot on my chest, knocking the wind out of me.

"Don't resist."

"Screw you, bitch!" I snapped.

"I don't want to hurt you any more than necessary. Or your younger sister will be upset. Neither one of us possesses the strength to stand to her."

I stopped resisting.

"What did you just say...?"

The woman regarded Shia, who had fallen unconscious, lying on the destroyed and burnt grass.

"Your companion is unconscious. She will be fine after recovery." The huntress said, as she tapped on a weird module on her thigh.

Blue holographic lights appeared before me, as a man wearing a hunter suit and a hood approached me. He looked less intimidating as the lady, but he still set off danger radars. And not to mention the fact that he also had a bow and arrow.

Either he was the one who taught her to wield the bow, or he was taught by her. Or they were colleagues.

All possibilities seemed equally bad.

"Twilight, knock out Yeling. The mission is complete. The Shadows will escort us to Master's throneroom."

"Sounds good Lena- Er. I mean. Vicki."

Fake Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to call you that. Bad habits."

"You will address me as Onyx. It goes without saying that Lena was very lenient on you when she was still alive. I'm not against you serving as my Auxiliary, but understand that I am not your Lena Soni."

"I... understand." Twilight looked down.

Onyx regarded me with those same cold eyes.

I felt like curling up into a ball and dying. I never felt so terrified in my life.

This girl... was even stronger than Danny. And Danny was the biggest threat I had ever faced in my entire life. For five entire years, he haunted me because of how overwhelmingly powerful he was.

And just like that, this girl had eclipsed him in power.

But then it hit me.

What Hakah had said...

Was this girl one of her allies? She knew Hakah.

She was part of that organization full of those so called Inner Shadows Hakah had mentioned. She had to be. There was no other reason why she was so powerful.

"What do you want... what do you want from me?"

Onyx knelt down in front of me, as Twilight jabbed my neck with a syringe. Things started to get dream-like. As Onyx's voice began to double.

"Under normal circumstances, I would never let someone know my name. Nor my codename. But these are no normal circumstances. Master Hal seeks you to join us. Your power is valuable, not just to our Legion. But to his greatness against her."

"Who is... her..."

I was losing consciousness and strength, as I slumped over, falling into Twilight's arms. Twilight carried me like a sack of potatoes, as shadows began swarming us.

The same ones who had attacked the village that day and served Hakah.

By the time I gained consciousness, I found myself in a massive throneroom, kneeling on the ground and surrounded by two people. The whole place looked like a church, golden lights coming through the mosaic windows and casting a bunch of colors.

I groggily turned my head to see Twilight, who was tending to me.

Shadows were all around, but now that I was conscious, they looked... different than the ones I had encountered. They sported golden celestial armor over their dark misty bodies.

"Where-"

Twilight put a hand to my mouth.

"Shh. Don't speak in Lord Hal's throneroom. Only talk when he lets you." He whispered.

"But you're talking right now." I whispered back.

"Shit!" Twilight replied.

Smooth.

Onyx glared at the two of us, shutting us both up.

"That rule only applies in the presence of Lord Hal."

We were in the middle of the throneroom, and up the tall steps was an empty throne. The whole place was populated, lined from the sides, with hordes of Shadows.

But it wasn't just shadows. I narrowed my eyes, realizing that the horde was split in factions. Shadows, and unusual beings with horns and wings. They looked almost like harpies.

A Shadow hovered to Vicki's position.

Has he come... the Eldest.

"Yes. I have retrieved the last son of the Mah Bloodline."

I knelt awkwardly with Vicki and Twilight.

"Harriet... I don't know about this." Twilight mumbled.

"The mission was tasked to us by Lord Hal, Coleman."

"But Yeling?! We're basically begging to piss her off!"

"This is none of our concern." Vicki brushed him aside.

Twilight fidgeted nervously.

"It will be... I guarantee you it will be. She's not gonna forgive us, it's practically a declaration of war."

I was about to raise my hand, but my wrist was still chained down.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Twilight walked in front of us, spreading his hands.

"Vicki. Surely. Even Lord Hal says you're the smartest of his Outer Shadows. In what scenario is it a good idea to mess with Yeling!"

Vicki glared at Twilight, as the Shadows swirled around us.

"You will watch your tone, Carlton Coleman." Vicki whispered, her voice dangerously low.

"This operation is suicide." Twilight pointed at the Shadows.

"Are you guys not at all bothered by the fact that we're literally stoking the flames?!"

The Shadows shifted nervously.

I looked at the harpies, and they also began to fidget too.

This person...

"Guys..." I said, but Vicki cut me off.

"You will do as you are told, Auxiliary. Or are you suggesting you are considering defying our Master's wishes?"

Twilight's face turned pale, but he gritted his teeth.

"I served Lena Soni. I was a hero, in Millennium City. That was what I stood for. When the city was attacked by the Ullr, I still stood for justice. She didn't even do anything to us. We have no business with her. Why are we going so far as to provoke her? And don't get this mixed up, Harriet. I don't serve you. I serve the girl who was once you."

I watched as Vicki's hand hovered over her bow.

"Coleman... choose your next words wisely. You know I am not as forgiving as Len-"

"You may look like Lens, but you're not her. The only reason I'm here is because I believe there is a part of her that still lives on in you. But make no mistake, I have no qualms speaking up against something that isn't right. And I know you feel the same way!"

Suddenly, Vicki stumbled, as she clutched her head.

"Erk... gah..." Vicki muttered, as the Shadows swirled more intensely.

Regain your composure, Onyx.

Do not falter, Lady Harriet.

Vicki took off her hood and mask, revealing choppy medium length blonde hair. She looked really attractive, but the murderous expression in her eyes suddenly made me lose all my libido.

"Carlton." Vicki growled, as she drew her bow with lightning fast speed, but before anyone could make a move, a massive force sent us all to the ground.

"That's enough." A man said. My eyes widened, as I tried to struggle to my feet, but the force was overwhelming. As if the gravity had increased exponentially.

"Master..." Vicki muttered, as a man in a black peacoat approached us. The Shadows all parted, and everyone in the throneroom bowed before him.

And for some reason, I felt like doing the same.

"Lord... Hal..." Twilight muttered. The man flicked his finger, causing Twilight to hover in the air before him.

"Carlton Coleman... Twilight Bolt. How disappointing are those of the Champions Universe." Loyce said, unamused.

"Y- Yes, my Master."

Loyce regarded Vicki, who glared at the ground.

"Vicki Harriet is my Star. She is the closest to the most complete Outer Shadow in the Black Legion, if not for Gasket's little gunman."

Twilight gulped.

"I-"

Loyce shut him up with a glance. Floki wasnt reading his energy signatures... but more like I had a feeling he would know if I was.

I didn't need Floki anyway.

Every aspect of this guy, from his aura, to his presence, to how he conducted himself.

To how heavy his gravity was, and how disinterested his face looked as he held Twilight Bolt with just one finger...

His power far eclipsed Vicki's.

And vastly eclipsed mine.

"I give my Outer Shadows lots of freedom when it comes to who they choose to be their Auxiliary. But it seems you are not doing her any good. I hear that you have objections to the mission I commissioned regarding Yeling Mah."

A bead of sweat ran down Twilight's face, and dripped to the ground, but Loyce's eyes flashed, and to my disbelief, the bead of sweat hovered before Carlton for everyone to see.

"The Twilight Bolt. Lena Soni's sidekick. You stand for justice, am I correct?"

The sweat suddenly vaporized.

I stared at Twilight in horror, and realized I was trembling from intimidation.

"M- Master Hal-"

"What's the matter, Coleman? If you have objections, I would love to hear it. Directly."

Twilight's mouth quivered, as it looked like he had completely lost his voice.

"It was me, Master Loyce." Vicki said, as Carlton and I stared at her.

"Wha-" I said. Loyce turned to her in surprise.

"Come again?"

Vicki clenched her teeth.

"He simply... reiterated what I told him. I think this mission is extremely dangerous, Master Loyce. So please... please spare him."

Loyce raised an eyebrow as the gravity lifted. Twilight fell to the ground in shock.

"Harriet..." Carlton said.

Immense pressure filled the room, as everyone was silent. Their eyes glued on us.

But Loyce waved his hand, to my disbelief.

"You may leave. Take Yeling to the barracks. He will serve as your Auxiliary, Harriet."

Vicki bowed.

"It shall be done."

And with that, the Shadows kicked us out of the throneroom. We walked down the hall.