Chapter 48
Then he says:
"I need you all to go to Terra and give her your energy, that will allow me to kill him, fast."
Then all start to fly towards Terra, and they make a circle around her. Then they put their hands in front, and energy starts to travel towards her. Then her cries start to calm down. The energy from all of them working together is enough to help Terra so that she doesn't get worse. She is still hurt, but she can manage now a little better.
Ark looks towards Ashan, and a scary smile appears on his face.
Ashan looks like he wants to say something, but before he even manages to open his mouth, he sees Ark in front of him. Then a punch hits him right in the nose. He is sent flying from the power of the punch, his nose a broken mess, together with his lips. But before he manages to gain his bearings, Ark teleports again, now at his back, and sends a wave of soul power that makes him scream because of the pain.
Ark makes a magic circle in front of Ashan, and from behind, he kicks him towards the magic circle. Ashan, being surprised by Ark and his new high morale, can only take the beating for now.
When he hits the magic circle, he is blocked like he is glued to a magnet; he is stuck. He can't move one bit. Then he hears something behind him that sounds like a charging laser gun: 'Vraam, Vraam, Vraam, Vraam'. The sound gets faster and faster. Then, just before he manages to raise his energy level once again, he is hit in the back with Ark's laser eyes, but now the laser is 100 times stronger because of the charging time.
When the laser hits his body, he feels like a sun hit him in the back. The flesh melts immediately, and then the laser flies through his body like a red-hot knife. His body offers no resistance against the laser.
When Ark stops the laser and cancels the magic circle, Ashan's body falls to the ground, but only half of it. His lower body is gone. Now he has only a hand, half of his chest, and his head. When he hits the ground, he makes a small thud. He is face-up and still alive; the cube's energy is keeping him alive despite this horrendous wound. His eyes slowly lose their luster. Ark lands next to him and says:
"Ashan Era, this is your end. Do you have a message for your family? I can assure you they will receive it."
Ashan turns his head slightly to the side to look at Ark and says:
"Who said that this is my end?"
He starts laughing with a few coughs while spitting blood in between.
Ark looks at him, then he senses something wrong with the cube. It feels like the cube is gathering energy from the atmosphere. Then he sees Ashan heal again; in a few seconds, he is back at full health.
But this Ashan feels like he is not himself, as if he is someone else. This Ashan feels like a robot:
"After all this time, I have a body again."
Ark looks at him and asks:
"Who are you, and what happened to Ashan?"
The robotic Ashan looks at Ark and smiles, then he answers:
"I am the one who could eat even... 'Her'. I am the Dimensions Eater, I am 'Leviathan'. And now I am in charge of this body."
Ark looks at him with calm eyes, but he knows this will be a nightmare for Terra because he won't be able to kill this foe without raising his power level even more.
Leviathan has the power to eat anything... "ANYTHING", even if he sends world-destroying attacks with his magic, he can simply "Eat" them. If he fights him in close combat, it will take a lot of time; he can't kill him at this power level fast enough. That means Terra will be tormented longer.
So, if he wants to do something, he needs to raise his power level again. That will make Terra hate him even more. But if he doesn't, it will only prolong her suffering.
He is also at his wits' end. He could finish everything in a second if he raises his power level, but he is not allowed. He knows that if he raises his power level more, Terra will not be able to take it anymore; she will die.
He has only one way left: he needs to fight Leviathan inside his soul and finish him quickly there so that Terra can be freed from the pain. Then, all around Ark, a white aura begins to form. He looks straight into Leviathan's eyes and tries to teleport behind him, to make him lower his guard so he can move the fight inside the 'Soul Space'. But before he can do that, he feels pain at his back. Suddenly, he is pulled back by a claw tied with a chain. He looks behind him and sees the claw piercing his back, with the chain stretching into a small portal only the size of a plate. Then, the claw releases, and before Ark can do anything, he sees Leviathan appear where the portal was. Leviathan lifts his hand, and a black light appears in the center of his palm. The next moment, Ark only sees the light at his back, and then he feels intense pain—the light piercing his back like butter, passing through his body and leaving a hole the size of a tennis ball inside his chest.
His heart is gone. He looks down and sees the gaping hole and his missing heart. He thinks: 'When was I hurt so easily by somebody... oh yeah, I think it was Anora the one who managed to do that. But is this really how weak I am? Or is he that strong?'
He looks at Leviathan and sees him smiling, then he hears:
"Don't put me together with that youngling Ashan. I am not so stupid as him to play with my food. When I fight, I fight to kill. So be ready to die, Ark Ember 'The One'."
Leviathan then flies toward Ark. He sees the wound already closing on Ark's chest, so he knows he needs to do much more damage. He raises his hand high, and claws of steel tied with chains form. The claws shoot toward Ark with the speed of a bullet. Ark forms a mind shield around his body, then a magic shield over it. When the claws hit the shields, both break in a second, but that second gives Ark enough time to dodge. He teleports behind Leviathan.
But the old monster simply turns to him, as if he knew where Ark would be. Before Ark can do anything, he sees the black light coming toward him from Leviathan's eyes. Ark puts his hands in front of his chest and is sent flying. When he stops, his hands are gone again, and his chest is split open. Ark doesn't even blink at these wounds.
He looks toward Terra and sees her screaming. He knows that at this power level, he doesn't stand a chance to kill Leviathan. So he turns his head, closes his eyes, and his aura begins to rise. With every increase in his aura, Terra screams even harder.
When his power level reaches to –85%, Terra stops and blocks. She can't even scream anymore; her body is more cracks than flesh. He stops at –85% this is the absolute limit she can endure. If he raises more, she will surely die.
Leviathan looks at Ark with calm eyes, then he sees Ark's red eyes and knows what's coming next. He fires his black light ray from his eyes simultaneously with Ark's laser. The two rays meet in the middle, and lava-like plasma flows from the point of impact. For a moment, Ark's laser pushes back the black ray, but immediately after, the black ray pushes back the laser with even greater force. The stalemate lasts a few seconds before both cease their laser attacks. They stare at each other, and Leviathan notices the impatience in Ark's eyes. He begins to plan how to best use this impatience against Ark.
While Ark considers how to lure Leviathan into the 'Soul Space,' something begins to happen that makes both of them to turn their heads.
The cube next to Melody starts to vibrate, and some parts begin to move. Leviathan turns his shocked face toward Melody and thinks: 'I am screwed'. He feels how his control is taken from him by someone, he feels how Melody is making her way fast, to the deepest part of the cube, where his core lies. If she manages to hack his core, then he can say goodbye to his freedom forever, and in that moment of distraction, he feels a hand on his back, and he is pulled in a different place, somewhere where he is much weaker than normally, he looks around and thinks,
'Now I'm really screwed'.