Nagini walked into the Infinity Council base with Yae, Saito, and Orika following behind. She walked into the meeting room where the other members were having their discussion on finding the leaders.
Borsu looked at Nagini then smiled. "Doctor, I'm glad you could join us."
"I won't be staying long. I still have things to do. These three wanted to help find the leaders of Punishing Flame and Legion." Nagini said.
Liao Ru looked at the three then smiled and closed her eyes. "So you three wish to test the might of finding Gradolk and Xenerus?"
"Yes." Saito said. "I won't fail Hisumi like I did last time. With Judgement and the Demon Order gone, all there is left to do is eliminate all other opposition."
"Alright, if you think you can handle it, I'll allow it. The other Rulers have already gone to try and retake Japan from the Cataclysms and Risen." Liao Ru said.
Ataraxia looked at the large monitor and pointed at the two dots. "The most likely place those two could be is Europe for the leader of Legion, and the leader of Punishing Flame was last seen here.." Ataraxia pointed at a unfamiliar place to Yae, Saito, and Orika.
"Where is that?" Orika asked.
"Heavenly Bay. Heavenly Bay is a region that isn't supposed to exist as it connects Earth to Esoria via the Forest of Beginning. It's an anomaly type location. Humans do live there, but only the ones blessed with supernatural abilities. Pryniau and Liao Ru will investigate Heavenly Bay. I'll have you three join them." Ataraxia said.
"I was already ahead of you, Serene." Nagini said.
Ataraxia looked at Nagini then smiled. "Well it's settled. Mona and I will join Borsu, Artemis, and Raiden to go to Europe."
"I'm starting to get butterflies.." Orika said softly.
"If you're nervous, you can always back out. You're much safer here than out there anyway. Your nervousness will only slow us and Hisumi down." Nagini said then turned around and walked off.
Orika was a bit tipped off by Nagini's words. She slid her foot back, trapping Nagini's legs in ice. Her eyes shined a bit and she looked back at Nagini. "I worked hard to get here. Don't act like you never get nervous before a huge event..."
Nagini looked at her legs then chuckled softly. "I don't get nervous. With power like mine...you too would never fear having the thought of getting in the way."
Nagini broke out of Orika's ice trap then looked back at Orika. "And if my words piss you off so much, that's only a sign that you're weak."
"Noxius!" Viktoria said.
"I am not weak!" Orika yelled and a bit of frost began to cover the walls.
Saito placed her hand on Orika's shoulder. "Orika...Let it go. She isn't worth getting hurt over."
"Listen to your friend, Ruler of Frost. Lashing out at me, won't change the truth." Nagini said then walked out of the room.
Ataraxia watched Nagini leave then sighed softly. "Don't mind Nagini's callousness. She doesn't know how to hold her tongue sometimes. I don't believe you are weak at all. You were chosen to be a Ruler after all."
Orika sighed and looked down.
-----
Yufumi lead us to the nearest Zodiac Shrine that was built by the Hero of Origin that contained a Zodiac Gem. I noticed a large Shrine in the distance and wondered what challenge needed to be completed to get the gemstone.
"So...what Shrine is this?" I asked.
"The Shrine of Justice and Balance. The Guardian over this shrine is the First Libra to ever exist named Justitia." Yufumi said.
"A Greek Goddess." Misao said.
"Whoa whoa, were fighting a Greek Goddess?" I asked.
"Why so shocked? We faced off against multiple Uprising Goddesses and won." Misao said.
"Greek Deities, especially the Ancient Ones are literally some of the strongest! I'm up for pushing my limits, but these are Original Zodiacs we're talking about!" I said.
"The Original 12 Zodiacs are pretty damn strong. Even Steven struggled with defeating Leona his first few attempts of awakening his Zodiac God Form. Then it was Knem, the Original Leo Deity." Yufumi explained.
I crossed my arms and noticed we were nearing the shrine. "Is there anything I need to know about Justitia before we go in?"
"Well one thing is Balance is her thing. You will quite literally always be equal to her level, but the thing is no matter how much you power up, you will never be stronger or weaker than her. Another thing is when she reaches her Equilibrium Mode, she will counter nearly everything you do." Misao answered.
"Is there any reason why we are facing off against her first?" I asked.
"Because it's the closest to us. Come on Hisumi, stop being a wuss. You want to acquire the Hero's Core and save your universe correct?" Yufumi asked and stopped at the staircase leading to the Shrine.
"I do, but I'm just nervous is all." I said.
"With power like yours, it's hard to imagine you getting the heebie-jeebies all of a sudden. This is what it comes down into this war. Deities against Deities." Misao said then gently pat my back. "I've seen you fight. I watched you grow and break limits beyond belief. You aren't alone anymore."
I looked at Misao then smiled at her and nodded. "I know I'm no longer alone. Alright, I'll calm down and focus on what's important."
"There's one last thing.." Yufumi said.
"What?" I asked.
"Justitia is a direct descendant of Henosis which means she has access to a technique called Atemus or locally called One With All. She can basically and quite literally copy any and all abilities or powers she sees even copy my Heroine of Origin Form and my unique attacks, but not only that she can copy a Ruler's ability and Forms." Yufumi said.
"Right, and that is an Omnipotent Level Feat, but her Atemus Ability doesn't stop only at absolute mimicry, it also gives her the ability to be omnipresent and have omniscience." Misao added.
"And my nervousness has once again reappeared." I sighed.
"Fortunately for us, she needs to be in her 100% Equilibrium Mode to use it. So all we have to do is defeat her before she reaches that level." Yufumi said then walked forward.
I gulped a bit then followed behind her with Misao following behind as well. We walked up the staircase, soon to reach the entrance. Yufumi touched the magic circle in front of the giant locked double doors and the magic circle shattered then the doors began to open. We walked inside and noticed a large arena ahead of us.
"Heroes of the Universe..." A voice said. "I am Justitia, Goddess of Judgment and Balance. Goddess of the Libra Zodiac. Descendant of Henosis. If you wish to obtain my power, a trial is mandatory."
"What kind of trial?" I asked.
"You must defeat one of my most powerful Champions." Justitia said then a pillar of light crashed down on the arena. "Athena, Goddess of Victory and Battle. The Golden Warrior."
The pillar disappeared, revealing a woman with long golden hair, light blue eyes, and wearing golden armor. She carried with her a sword of light and a golden shield.
Athena looked at us and prepared herself for battle. Walls of divine light blocked the exit and we were now forced to get prepared for battle.
"Your trial starts now." Justitia said then her voice faded away.
Athena's aura surged around her body then she propelled toward us at high speeds. She was heading straight toward me and slashed down with her sword. I summoned my weapon and blocked her attack then grunted as she was pushing me back toward the wall. Yufumi ran toward Athena and shot a barrage of fireballs at her.
Athena grabbed my arm then used my body as a shield, letting the fireballs strike me. She tossed me aside then dodged Misao's attack from behind. She kicked Misao away then slashed down toward her, unleashing a barrage of razor winds at Misao.
Misao evaded the razor winds then dashed toward Athena once again. Yufumi dashed toward her as well. They both went for an attack in which Athena blocked simultaneously.
"Is this all you have..?" Athena asked and looked at the two then watched me stand up.
"No, and you haven't even seen the best of us!" Misao said and her eyes shined as she transformed into her Frozen Sakura Form.
"Hmph.." Yufumi scoffed then transformed into her Oni Form.
I grunted and held my head then looked at Athena then roared and awakened my Gem, transforming into my Ruler Form.
Athena looked surprised to feel my power increasing. "This...will be interesting.."
Athena bellowed and used her aura to repel Yufumi and Misao then golden particles circled around her. She dashed toward Yufumi at high speeds then dodged her attack and struck her with a shield bash followed with a circular slash. Yufumi grunted as she was knocked back.
Misao launched herself toward Athena and slashed with her sword. Athena dodged that attack as well then parried her next attack, knocking Misao off balance then punched her stomach. Misao grunted then coughed a bit before getting blown away into a wall. Misao groaned softly and fell onto one knee.
Athena looked at me then gripped her sword tighter. "Let's see what you've got."
I glared at her then spread my wings and roared, slightly shaking the ground. I stopped roaring and lightning crackled around my body. I cleared my mind and looked at Athena seriously then propelled myself toward her at invisible speeds. Athena was caught off guard and grunted as she was struck with my kick. I knocked her backwards then dashed toward her.
Athena landed on the ground then parried my next attack then groaned as she was struck on her side. 'How is she...so fast..?'
I struck her with an uppercut, knocking her upwards then jumped up and surrounded my arms with lightning then slashed down, knocking her to the ground then teleported to the ground and thrusted my arm, striking her then blew her away. She groaned loudly as she crashed into a wall.
Athena slowly stood up and her eyes shined. She closed her eyes and spirit energy began to flow around her body. She fully recovered the damage she took and replenished her stamnia completely.
"That's the power of Spiritual Meditation. That's only a fraction of what she can do with it.." Yufumi said and stood up slowly.
"This is going to take longer than I would have hoped for.." Misao said as she stood up. "But what did I expect..? We are fighting literal Divine Beings. No way this is going to be easy."
"That was pretty good...but it's gonna take a lot more than that to defeat me!" Athena bellowed and stood up. Her aura surged powerfully around her body.
I grunted softly and watched Athena. "Here goes nothing.."
-----
Nagini sat in her lab and tried to work on her experiments, and although she would get perfect results each time, it didn't feel the same to her.
"Doctor...is something the matter?" Amelia asked, taking the equipment off her body.
"I'm getting perfect results, yet...it doesn't feel exciting." Nagini sighed and looked at a picture of me. "My Lab Rat would always celebrate whenever something goes right and make snarky remarks when something fails. Without that...it doesn't feel like I've achieved anything."
"You miss Hisumi that much? Why not go to her?" Amelia asked.
Nagini smiled and shook her head. "As much as I would love to, I need to finish this up quickly. I am perfecting the Hyper Energy so our allies can have a winning shot against Qiao Zhi and his army."
"I'm sure once Hisumi is done with her work, she'll be back in your arms." Amelia smiled.
Nagini chuckled a bit and nodded. "I'm sure she will."
She heard beeping and looked at her monitor and answered it. "You said WHAT?! A...Risen Legend on the battlefield?!"
"A Risen Legend..? Wait...no...that's bad..!" Amelia said in shock.
"I'll be right there! Hang tight!" Nagini said then hung up. "Alright, I'm heading to Yukihori to help Yusa and the others! Go rendezvous with the rest of the Council. I'll be back momentarily."
Nagini opened a portal and entered her realm.
-----
I groaned as I was knocked back and panted. My Gem was beginning to run out of energy, yet my Willpower kept it from deactivating. I looked at Athena and noticed she had barely any visible wounds on her body.
"I'm in my Miko Form and we still can't break through her abilities. I can see why Libra is one of the strongest Zodiacs.." Misao said.
"I would...try to disable her abilities but I'm not the right version of Demon for that. Only one man can accomplish that and it's Steven...unless." Yufumi said then looked at me.
I looked at Yufumi then grunted softly. "I don't know if I can. It already takes a lot of energy to just create one ability, now you want me to create an ability that can nullify her powers?"
"We will cover you! This is our one chance at beating her!" Yufumi said.
Misao looked at me. "Let go of your doubts. I believe in you. You can do this."
Athena thought about her past as she looked at us then readied her blade. "A bond like yours. I used to have companions like you, but those companions don't last long. I will show you what loss truly feels like!"
"Trust in yourself. You got this." Yufumi said then readied her weapon.
"I agree. Now let's put this plan into motion!" Misao bellowed.
To Be Continued...