Spectacular World

Chapter 240: Perseverance

Throughout history, one concept has existed that outweighed everything.

Absolute destruction.

Humanity always had a strange and unhealthy fascination with the concept of annihilation. Even before the Shadow first appeared and set the world back to the Stone Age, before even the four Lords arrived, and before all concepts of Supers were even known about, humans still told stories about their death.

Angry Gods, which would wipe all life out, natural disasters that would result in the planet’s destruction, or movies about the sun exploding. They even had tales for ancient humans, such as stories of floods and storms that forever altered the planet, or tales of a mighty astroid which wiped all previous life on the surface of the planet out.

Self-annihilation was a strange topic that humans seemed to love deep down, even if they themselves could not admit it. Full Monarch believed he knew the truth. The reason as to why people were so fascinated by such a topic.

If he had to describe humanity in a single word, it would be: perseverance.

Yes. Perseverance was the perfect way to describe humans. Disaster after disaster, humanity somehow clung to life. They rebuilt when cities were torn down, formed societies when everything crumbled to ash, and when they were knocked over, they stood back up. Humans were amazing. Humans were the reason Supers even existed, and why the four Lords loved planet Earth and fought with their very lives to defeat the Shadow when it first arrived.

Human perseverance was one of the greatest things in the universe.

And the Beast was the perfect counter force of that perseverance. The cumulation of every destructive myth that humanity fed to itself, the Beast served as an icon. A symbol of true destruction. A scar upon the universe that would stop at nothing until everyone suffered as it did.

The Beast’s arrival was something Full Monarc fully expected. He had a feeling it would arrive, yet he hoped he would have had time to finish his first fight before it showed up.

As usual, fate had other plans for him.

The Beast was here now, and it was just something he would have to deal with.

Just like all the times he fought it, the Beast tried to take on a new form. Today, the clouds parted and twisted, as a swirling mass of metal began to descend to the planet below. The air vibrated and hummed, lightning crackling off it and turning fields of sand into a sea of glass. The Beast and its ship looked like a massive helix or strands of DNA.

It was nearly as big as a small mountain or a large hill, and at the way at the top, where the lines twirled and met, the Beast stood. It looked like white fire, bathed in pure light, and it stared down at the planet below as it approached. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Reality was shaking. The calamity energy, the one that made the impossible possible, was reaching its peak. The battle Nier and Lucifer had drawn the creature out, and then it was further angered when it sensed Full Monarch’s approach.

Four years ago, when Full Monarch and the Emperor first clashed, Alpha’s plan had been simple. He used the Beast to tire the strongest hero in the universe out, thinking he could then win. Now, four years later, the roles had been reversed. Nier used Alpha and the Emperor persona to draw out Full Monarch’s full power and set him up for his hardest fight yet.

Full Monarch gazed up at the approaching disaster. He reached up and wiped some sweat and blood away from his mouth. "You invited that thing, huh?"

Alpha glared up at the Beast. "No. That thing isn’t part of my plan."

"Really?"

"I want to beat you with my own strength." Alpha declared. "Not borrow power, not through some plan, I’ve thrown all of that away. I’ve thrown the persona of the Emperor away. I’ve thrown my pride, my plans, my very life, and my very soul, all away! All I am is a weapon, one that wants to beat you as you are now." Alpha’s eyes lit up, crackling with a mix of blue and black. "This is about me versus you, not some two-bit berserker that doesn’t know any better. Do you get that?"

Full Monarch gave a soft smile. "Yeah. I think I get it." He glanced back at the Beast. "I’ll go stop that thing, then we can battle."

"No." Alpha shook his head. "You’ll fight me now-"

Pain blasted through him, and Alpha’s eyes widened. He gasped and winced, dropping to his knees as Full Monarch rammed a fist directly into his gut. The blue fire around the strongest entity in the universe went out and shifted, becoming a golden light, and then the fire fully faded, as his full form shut off and he reverted to his lesser battle mode form. Golden chains spilled from his hands and wrapped tightly around Alpha, binding his limbs and forcing him to his knees.

Alpha roared and glared up at Full Monarch. "You dare!"

Full Monarch placed his hand on Alpha’s head and ruffled his hair. "Your body is damaged. You’ve gone through the wringer, and your soul is practically shattered. Chill out here. These chains are binding their way through your flesh, and that cursed Ego of yours. They’ll mend and fix you up." He smiled. "We can have our final battle after I beat that thing, okay?" He removed his hand slowly. "I won’t leave you again. I swear."

"Let me out of these chains!" Alpha tried to snap them off him, but they wouldn’t budge. His energy spilled out like a mix of fire and lightning, but Full Monarch was already floating away. "Idiot! You’ve weakened yourself! Undo these bindings! Take your power back! Fight me! Look at me! Don’t leave! Don’t turn your back on me!" Alpha roared, yet still the world’s strongest didn’t look back. "I- Why am I still not worthy to stand alongside you. Is seeing your back really all I’m able to amount to?"

Alpha hung his head in defeat. Without a doubt, it was his loss.

Full Monarch flew through the air, gold and blue swirling around him as he headed for the only being that could rival him.

’Why did you do that?’ In the back of his mind, he heard the voice of his old friend, the Brightest Star.

"Do what?" Full Monarch smirked slightly.

’Idiot. You know what I’m talking about.’ The Lord hissed. ’You took a piece of me.’

"Yeah."

’We needed that piece. Our power dropped, and we can not maintain our true form now, because you decided to try and be a good father now?’

"Better late than never, right?" Full Monarch shrugged. "I couldn’t just let his soul be corroded. He was melting from the inside out. Transforming into that form twisted his body and mind. The least I can do is offer out a hand and give him some warmth to cling to within that darkness."

’Yes, but now we have to fight the Beast with only ’most’ of our power.’

Full Monarch gave a chuckle. "Don’t worry. I’ll manage. Don’t you know? Humans persevere."

The battle started without words. The moment he was above the clouds, Full Monarch’s eyes locked onto the Beast, who stood upon its strange DNA-shaped ship. His eyes locked onto it, and it stared back at him. It was a being made of white fire, which swirled into the shape of a person, and they quietly stared at one another without saying a word. Then, without warning, the Beast struck.

The ship it had been standing on whirled to life and started to twist. Gears folded in on themselves, and metal slid into place as it began to rapidly shrink, getting smaller and smaller until the entire ship compressed down, now being the size of a human. It was extremely thin and still shaped like a metallic strand of DNA. Its weight also did not fade, something Full Monarch quickly learned when the Beast gripped its ship as if it were a sword and smacked him upside the face with it.

The force of the attack split the skies, and Full Monarch felt pain bloom through his body; a bruise appeared as he was sent flying back. He spun, completely out of control, and crossed over the planet, slamming into mountains before finally ramming down into the ocean.

Shaking his head, Full Monarch flicked his hands out, and the laws of the universe began to obey. The ocean split and tore, ripping in half and opening up, as he parted the sea. He lowered himself toward the ground, further and further until he was at the bottom of the world, and he did so just in time for the Beast to come slamming down at him again, wielding its new weapon. Full Monarch easily side-stepped the attack, the DNA saber cleaving the ground in two and sending ripples through both halves of the sea. The Beast twisted around to face him, but he rammed his fist directly into its face.

The Beast let out an unholy screech that shook the planet as it was launched into one of the parted waves. The ocean began to boil and steam, and the strand of DNA it held twisted again, getting a bit longer and narrower at the tip. It held it out in front of it as if it were a wand, and the white fire that made up its form swirled around the object. The space between the strands of DNA lit up and ignited, a rainbow of different colors forming along it, and then a mass of mixed colored light swirled at the tips.

"Uh oh." Full Monarch’s eyes widened. "That doesn’t look very good-"

The laser fired.

Perseverance meant not giving up. It was something akin to determination and required that aspect to keep trying and to keep pushing forward. But, where does it come from? How do people have perseverance, and how do they get the strength to get back up when they’re knocked down? Perseverance isn’t something a person can just have. It requires dedication and a strong will, and for each human, something about them has powered that perseverance. A desire. One brought about by their life.

Maybe it is the desire to reunite with a loved one that powers their perseverance. Maybe it is a desire to grow stronger and beat a goal that lies out of reach. Maybe the desire is something sinister, and it is to kill someone. Either way, desire is what powers perseverance, but one thing Full Monarch was starting to learn was that while humans were able to embody the meaning of perseverance and could have so many desires that fueled it, they were not the only species in the universe that could persevere.

The Beast roared as its multicolored light wiped out a chunk of the ocean and narrowly missed Full Monarch, who barely side-stepped it, his eyes wide with panic. The laser twisted and went up and up, leaving the planet and tearing a chunk out of the moon above as it soared out into space.

"Whoa, he’s like really mad today." Full Monarch gave a nervous chuckle.

’See! This is why you shouldn’t have given up a piece of your power!’ The Brightest Star stated in a blunt tone. ’We need to go all out when we fight the Beast.’

The Beast lined up another shot and aimed it directly at Full Monarch. It glared at the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos with pure hate. It hated him. Hate, hate, hated him. It hated all the Lords, the Lordians, and all of creation, because it was them who wiped its people out! The Lords were the reason it was lonely, why it had nobody, why it suffered, and lived alone! It existed now as nothing more then a corrupted force of power that seeked only revenge! Revenge on the Lordians for stealing away all that it loved! Revenge on the Lords for killing its family.

Revenge on life itself.

That was its desire. A desire for revenge. A cycle which powered its perseverance. One that went back as far as time.

Hate. Truly, it was a strong thing.

Full Monarch took a deep breath and then launched himself toward the Beast as it fired another laser at him. This time he didn’t dodge it. He punched right at it with a yell! His fist grasped the energy, swirling it around his palm and holding it in his hand, it began to vibrate and shake as he forced the power to obey him! He swam through its multicolored beam, ignoring how it burned his skin and tore his clothes, and when he did reach the Beast, its eyes went wide as he slammed his fist straight into its face!

All that explosive force was unleashed, causing the Beast to reel as its head snapped around and nearly got torn off its body. It stumbled back, the ground cracking beneath it, and the water splitting further before it crashed down on the two of them like a dense weight that neither of them noticed. Full Monarch didn’t stop at just one strike either. He pulled his fist back so hard it created a vacuum and cleared a hole in space itself, dragging the Beast toward him and allowing him to punch it in the gut hard enough to send it flying out of the ocean and back into the air.

The Beast flew upwards, leaving the waters, and it went past the clouds, nearly flying out of the planet before it caught itself. The creature shook its head and then snapped its neck back into place, healing. The DNA weapon changed again, this time becoming thin and a bit shorter, like some twisted sword, and it formed just in time as Full Monarch flew back at it. The Beast dodged the lasers that launched from his eyes and flew beneath him, then came up, slashing into his side and spilling his blood. Full Monarch winced and then threw out a punch, but the Beast blocked with its sword, further cutting his fist up, as the blade ignited with more energy.

Powerful radiation seeped out of the weapon as it attempted to burn the hero out from the inside and crumble his DNA, yet Full Monarch withstood that and slammed a flaming punch into the Beast’s shoulder, snapping its arm, just as it kicked out at him and rammed it into his side.

The two of them began to go back and forth, delivering a series of strikes and slashes to one another. Every punch or kick he landed would leave cracks along the Beast’s body or break off sections, but at the same time, it was destroying his bones and tearing his skin as it cut into him.

In most of their fights he had been at full strength and so was able to beat it after a long battle, but he was now nowhere near his full power, years of flying at top speed, the battles, and giving up his energy to save Alpha, taking its toll, and so, both he and the Beast were near equals, yet there was one glaring issue.

Were you really equals with someone if one of them had a sword?

The Beast dodged one of his punches and saw its opening. Without warning, it stabbed out, and pain erupted through Full Monarch’s body as the blade sank into his gut and came out his back. Full Monarch gasped, and then his look steeled. He wrapped his arms around the Beast and flew down toward the planet, slamming them both into the ground hard enough to leave a city-sized crater down on the wasteland, which he had landed in!

The Beast roared and twisted its blade, ripping a section of his stomach out as it pulled the weapon away, yet Full Monarch didn’t stop. He kept punching it, even as it kept stabbing into him!

Without a doubt, one of them was going to die.

Meanwhile, away from the intense battle, at another section of the planet, Alpha struggled with the chains.

"Damn it, get off me!" He gritted his teeth and his energy pumped through his body, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t shatter them.

"A-Alpha."

Alpha’s eyes widened when he heard the voice. He looked up and yelled out in panic. "Hell Hound!"

She was stumbling toward him, badly injured, bleeding out, and limping, yet she still made her way over toward him. She was still smiling. "I-It is almost done."

"Hell Hound, what are you doing! You need to get healed!"

Hell Hound collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily, and then held something out to him. "N-No. Not yet. Not when we’re finally reaching the end. You can do it." Her fingers grew tight around her mace, one hand holding it, and the other gripping Storymaker. "You can finish it. This bad story. Give it the ending it needs." She hit the chains that were around him with the mace, and suddenly they came undone.

The chains sank into Alpha’s body, hiding away in his soul, to finish the task Full Monarch gave them, but they no longer bound him. Alpha held Hell Hound, who dropped into his arms. "T-This is insane. You need to see a healer."

Hell Hound shook her head. "No. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?" She held the sword out to him. "F-Finish it." She ordered. "Finish the battle."

"W-Why are you telling me to do this?"

"N-Nier wants it done. My father." Hell Hound said weakly.

"He doesn’t love you! That man is a monster. I should have killed him long ago! I should have just left with you as you suggested! I-I I’m not strong enough!" Alpha cried out. "I can’t beat Full Monarch."

Hell Hound pressed the sword until the handle was forced in his hands. "Then... Die trying." She stated. "One last try. Please."

Alpha gripped the sword, which suddenly felt a lot heavier in his hands. He placed his hand over her wound and tried to heal it to the best of his ability, but even as a strange golden light joined his usual power, it wasn’t enough.

"I’ll finish it." He promised. "But you’d better live."

"Sure." Hell Hound let out a sigh and closed her eyes. "Just... End it all. Then we can go to that beach."

"Yeah." Alpha smiled softly. "That would be nice." He stood up slowly and held the sword up. "Okay... Avalon. Let’s finish this."

Back over with Full Monarch, he twisted himself off the Beast and flew back, getting some distance. He breathed heavily, blood spilling down the front of his suit, due to how many times he had been stabbed.

The Beast wasn’t much better. It jumped back, getting some distance, and was covered in cracks and dents, its glowing form struggling to stay pieced together.

The two of them caught their breath, and then the battle started once again. The Beast twisted and slashed out with its sword, sending a wave of energy toward the number one hero, who ducked beneath it. Behind him, in the distance, several mountains were cut away. Full Monarch held his palm out toward the Beast, and golden chains fired out, wrapping around its limbs and binding it. He tugged on the chains and dragged the Beast toward him, his fist catching on fire as he punched it directly in the face.

The Beast was sent flying again, but the chains reached the limit, breaking its fall, and with another tug, Full Monarch dragged it back toward him, allowing him to punch it again. He kept this up until the Beast shattered the chains, and then its body puffed up! Its stomach expanded, and it opened its maws, launching out a beam of white energy which blasted a small hole in Full Monarch’s shoulder, making him wince and grab at his wound. His eyes then glowed, and he fired his own energy beams back, taking out a piece of the Beast’s side.

That hardly slowed the Beast down, though, and it rammed forward, slamming the sword back into him, this time aiming for his heart. Full Monarch let out a yell of pain as the sword went through him, and he was smashed into the ground. Even with a blade buried inside of it, his heart still beat strongly, but the pain was unimaginable. The Beast followed him to the ground, sitting on his stomach, and it began to punch him across the face over and over again!

’Jackson! You have to stand up!’ The Brightest Star cried out, but Full Monarch couldn’t react as every punch shook the planet and cracked his skull. He was seeing stars and getting dizzy. ’Jackson!’ The Beast lifted its fist again about to cave his face in, but then suddenly a flicker of red slammed into it!

"Get the hell off my dad!" Ruby screamed, slamming a kick into the Beast and hitting it hard enough to send it rolling a few feet.

Full Monarch’s eyes snapped open, and he stared up at his daughter in horror. "J-Jill!"

"It’s Ruby!"

"You can’t be here!" Full Monarch sat up and wobbled slightly. "Its to dangerous. I took the Beast to sections of the planet that had no life so we could avoid running into heroes or people and put them in danger! Leave!"

Ruby shook her head. "Like hell I’m leaving!" She took off toward the Beast, which stood up. "I’m going to teach this guy a lesson-"

Pain erupted through Ruby as she threw a punch out at the Beast, only for it to catch her fist and twist her arm until it snapped. A ball of energy appeared in its other hand, and it pointed it at her, about to blow her to bits, but before it could, Full Monarch landed next to her and grabbed the wrist, lifting it up, causing the attack to miss.

The Beast then just back-handed Ruby, sending her flying away, and it grabbed the sword still in Full Monarch’s heart and tore it out, causing him to yell. The Beast aimed for his neck and was about to behead him, but Ruby came slamming back in and headbutted the Beast in the side.

The calamity actually staggered slightly and glared down at her. "Take that!" Ruby punched it with her non-broken arm, but it easily withstood it and then slammed its sword through her gut. She screamed and was brought to her knees. It was about to finish her off, but Full Monarch roared and slammed his fist into its head, nearly snapping it off.

The Beast just hissed and punched him even harder, sending him flying back. Then it ripped its sword out of Ruby. Full Monarch flew back, his eyes wide with fear as he watched the Beast kick his daughter’s gut wound so hard, it expanded, and she was nearly torn in half, blood and guts spilling out of her.

"No!" His power surged, and Full Monarch lit up like a sun, smashing into the Beast with both his fists as he flew toward it and went directly through it! He ripped its body in two, splitting it apart, but that wouldn’t last very long, as already, the two pieces of energy were trying to mend themselves back together. It bought just enough time, though, and Full Monarch scooped his daughter up and flew away. He did his best to piece her back together and held his hand out over her. A golden glow seeped out and swirled around Ruby.

’What are you doing!’ The Brightest Star said, suddenly alarmed.

"Saving her!"

’S-Stop you, idiot! You already tore a chunk of our power out earlier, you’re taking another piece of the Cosmos half!’

"Yeah." Full Monarch’s hair stopped glowing, fading back into a reddish brown color. "I am." Without even a second thought, he tore the piece out and formed it into Ruby.

The effect was almost instant. Her torn body full recovered, and her hair ignited, becoming golden. Her eyes snapped open as she gasped and sat up, her eyes also glowing with a golden light. "W-What?" She glanced down at her hands in shock. She felt strong. Like, really strong, but also as if part of her was just gone or repressed?

Full Monarch let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was healed. "Jill." He smiled at her. "I’m glad you’re-"

The Beast slammed its fist into the side of Full Monarch’s head, cracking his skull open even more and sending him blasting back. Ruby screamed as it turned to her and struck out with its sword. In a panic, she lifted her hands, and a golden sword swirled into existence just in time to block the Beast’s swing!

"W-What the hell?" Ruby stared at the golden sword she now held. It pulsed, and a beam of gold blasted out, sending the Beast tumbling back. "How am I doing this?"

The Beast roared and charged again, but Full Monarch rammed into it from the side, fire pouring out of his feet. His fingers lit up, and he stabbed them into the side of the Beast like claws, but they barely left a mark. "Damn, I got a lot weaker, huh?"

’You think!’ The Brightest Star hissed out. ’You fucking idiot! How could you let your power drop this much!’

"What father would let their kid suffer?" Full Monarch ducked as the Beast swiped at him with its sword.

’Oh, don’t act like you’re a good father now!’

"I’m a better one than you."

’What’s that supposed to mean?’

"You know exactly what it means." Full Monarch delivered a flaming kick to the Beast’s side, but he barely staggered it. "It was my body, but you had control over it then. Alpha, he’s as much yours as he is mine, you understand that, right? Your desire to get rid of a cancerous cell led to a child’s suffering. You brought about all of this. So, I don’t want to hear it when you say you know what’s best, got that?"

’...I’m sorry.’

"Are you?"

’I never imagined it would ever reach a point like this.’

"Well, it did, so instead of whining about it, how about you do what you can?" Full Monarch blocked a punch and felt the bones in his arms crack. He opened his mouth, and a wave of fire blasted out, washing over the Beast. "Let’s save the day, okay?"

’Okay.’

The Beast went to swing its sword again, but Ruby jumped in front of her dad and blocked the strike with her own blade. "D-Dad? Why am I glowing?"

"Less talking, more ass-kicking!" Full Monarch declared.

"Okay?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Together, the two of them began to fight back, blocking and striking with everything they had. They moved like one, covering each other’s weaknesses, yet it wasn’t enough. The Beast was a force of pure power, and it began to easily beat them both back. Their attacks were deflected, and while they avoided any killer blows with the sword, both of them weren’t at full strength, and the Beast’s fists were more than enough.

Ruby was punched away, and the Beast slammed a hand into Full Monarch, smashing him into the ground. It raised its sword up and brought it down, ready to finish him off, but before it could, another blade stopped it. One that was white and covered in strange symbols.

Full Monarch’s eyes widened as he saw Alpha now standing above him, blocking the strike with Storymaker. The Beast glared down at the man, and Alpha just gave a smirk. "To the moon."

The Beast’s sword vanished in a pop, and without a sword, Alpha slammed his blade into its cracked side. He tried to slice it in half, but his blade wasn’t able to go all the way through. It did send the Beast further away, though.

"What are you doing here?" Full Monarch asked, right as Ruby returned. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the red-haired man.

Alpha pointed his blade at the Beast. "We finish that thing, then we fight. Got that?"

Full Monarch looked to Alpha and then his daughter, and he let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah. Sure thing."

This right here was his reason. His desire. His perseverance.

Full Monarch balled his hand into a tight fist, and with Alpha on one side and Ruby on the other, he looked back toward the Beast as it stood up. "Let’s send this guy packing."