Hero of Darkness

Kahn now stood before Ryuken, his form illuminated by the divine brilliance of the Domain of Sacred Divinity. The new realm seemed alive, its air charged with celestial energy, and the statues of gods and goddesses seemed to watch over the battlefield, their silent gazes heavy with judgment.

Ryuken's transformation had reached an apocalyptic peak. His body now towered over the battlefield, standing a colossal one-kilometer tall. He resembled the ancient and mythological deities of Japan, a living embodiment of divinity and wrath.

Ryuken's new form radiated an aura that felt both sacred and terrifying—a force that defied comprehension. His skin turned a deep, glowing crimson, pulsing as if the energy within him was alive and ready to burst forth. Four massive, jagged horns sprouted from his head, curving like the crown of an infernal king while his entire face was covered with a black demonic mask.

All the tattoos on his body shimmered with a golden-red light, as though they channeled the very essence of his domain.

Most strikingly, Ryuken now bore four pairs of arms, each distinct in form and purpose.

The first pair retained their humanoid appearance, adorned with glowing runes that pulsed with his space force energy.

The second pair, emerging from his upper back, looked almost skeletal, their hands crackling with lightning and imbued with the element of storms.

The third pair radiated intense blue energy, seemingly forged of water and ice, their every movement rippling with an aura of tranquil lethality.

The fourth pair, massive and clawed, carried the aura of regality but also an insatiable hunger for bloodlust.

The eternal fire around him, so potent it seemed alive, coating his entire form— a fire infused with the laws of space and blood, continued to burn with untamed ferocity, even in his gigantic form.

The air itself warped and trembled under the heat and intensity of his presence. Every breath Ryuken took sent waves of power rippling outward, reshaping the environment of the domain to his will.

The aura surrounding him was no longer simply overwhelming... rather, it was suffocating; carrying a weight at least a hundredfold greater than before. Those nearby felt as though their very souls were being crushed under its pressure.

Ryuken was now comparable to a legitimate 7th-stage saint!

[This… this feeling I get from him now… why does it feel so familiar?] wondered Kahn for a moment.

[Wait!... This is exactly similar to that I got from the Linchpin of the Multiverse!] concluded Kahn, his expression full of bewilderment.

Somehow, Hero of Space in his Sacred Divinity form carried the same aura from the Linchpin of the Multiverse.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Hero of Space's companions on the other end, still processing the sheer magnitude of what they had witnessed, felt a suffocating sense of dread creep over them. The oppressive aura of Ryuken's transformed state was unlike anything they had encountered before.

To them, it wasn't just power—it was the embodiment of death and inevitability. Their instincts screamed at them to flee, but they remained rooted in place, trembling as if their very souls were on the verge of being devoured.

Kahn was now ecstatic while the members of the hero of space's party felt dread as if death itself was staring them in the face.

"This man… is a genius." declared Kahn with a wide smile.

"How?" asked Omega.

"Whatever the true extent of his domain is…" Kahn began, his voice resonating with a mix of admiration and curiosity.

"He has somehow bypassed the restrictions that bind others to using only one Divine Spirit at a time when activating their domain." said Kahn.

"He has merged all seven of his Divine Spirits, the ones he brought from his home world, and fused their powers seamlessly into this realm.

He's not just summoning their abilities, but transforming them into the essence of his domain." he iterated sternly.

Despite the circumstances, Kahn's tone carried genuine praise, the admiration of a warrior who understood the genius required to achieve such a feat.

[Why is someone like him still unable to break past his limits?] Kahn pondered to himself, his thoughts racing as his sharp mind dissected Ryuken's abilities.

[His talent in assimilating his powers with his domain rivals that of Maximus. If he possessed the Dimensional Law divine ability, he would've surpassed me… at least a couple of years ago.] iterated Kahn in his mind.

For a fleeting moment, Kahn's expression softened, replaced by a contemplative look tinged with both envy and respect.

[The God of Space wasn't wrong in choosing him.] Kahn admitted internally.

[But Ryuken's stagnation is his own doing. His struggles are not due to a lack of potential but the absence of an open mind.]

A faint smile crept onto Kahn's face as he thought back to his own journey.

[Miyamoto-sensei… You were farsighted indeed, arranging for this encounter between us.]

He recalled the guidance and rigorous training he had received from his masters, Romulus and Vildred, and how their teachings had sharpened him into the force he was today.

[Ryuken, on the other hand, didn't have mentors like I did.] Kahn mused, his respect for Ryuken's self-earned strength deepening.

[Despite that, his raw potential is extraordinary. He's the fourth Hero I've encountered from this generation… but unlike the Hero of Fire or the Hero of Life, I see a brilliance in him that makes me almost envious.] thought Kahn.

But right when he was lost in his thoughts…

[Warning! The host is under a massive debuff from the opponent's domain.

All elemental affinities apart from Fire and Darkness, have been reduced by 50%.

All physical defense against elemental magic has been reduced by 30%.

The host's world energy reserves have been reduced by 20%] alerted the system.

[Ah, his outstanding bastard. He doesn't even have the Dimensional Domain but he somehow managed to gain such massive advantage while creating his domain.

Did it come from his own training or the divine spirits he contracted? It's like he is indeed worthy of being considered a main protagonist of a novel.] praised Kahn incessantly.

The constant praise from Kahn had a valid reason behind it.

After training under Romulus and Vildred, while dying over a million times just to raise his affinities to all elements of reality to 100%... Kahn knew how hard it was to achieve that feat.

So far, the only other person he had seen achieving this enormous feat was Maximus Gladius, the Hero of Nature.

But what made Sasakibe Ryuken, the Hero of Space different from them was the fact that he neither had a natural affinity to all elements of reality like Maximus, and neither did he have masters like Romulus and Vildred who taught Kahn.

[It's just like sensei said… it's not physical, but psychological chains that have stopped him.

Well, let's see how I can fare against someone so powerful as him.] iterated Kahn.

Swoosh!

The very next moment… Kahn himself appeared 10 kilometers away from Ryuken in this domain.

"These statues of deities and gods aren't just for show, right? You seem like a different being yourself." proclaimed Kahn.

The 1 kilometer tall deified Ryuken looked down upon Kahn/Byakuya, his expression filled with disregard for the latter's existence.

"I was awoken by this mere pest?" a contemptuous voice resonated in the 15-kilometer radius, the origin being Ryuken himself.

However, the tone and the pitch of the voice did not match that of the Hero of Space.

"We should play with him first.

He forced our contractor to use all of us together. A quick death is simply too big of a waste for someone so interesting like him." said a harrowed voice, similar to that of the caw of a crow.

"Grr… I feel disrespected. My fire wasn't able to kill him. That's why our contractor was forced to use his ultimate form.

Did you all forget what happened last time?" spoke a growling voice behind the demonic black mask. This was obviously Toranaga's voice.

"Tch! Tch! Don't remind me. It left such a bad taste in my mouth.

I had plans to take over Ryuken's body in the previous world. But all of them were thwarted because he used this form prematurely as his last stand.

The other demonic spirits must be laughing at me in our world." spoke a feminine but creepy entity from behind the mask.

"He he he! Why worry now? Have you not realized that we are no longer constrained by the laws of our original world?

Here, we do not have to face any repercussions. We can cause as much carnage as we can without holding back. He he he!" spoke another sadistic yet ghastly entity.

"Behave, just because Ryuken is no longer in control, doesn't mean I will allow any one of you to run rampant.

I shall not be part of something so disgraceful." spoke a regal voice, with a pitch similar to an archaic beast.

And finally, the 7th voice spoke in a sagacious but contemplative tone…

"This human is very unique. I feel so many lifeforms within him. But at the same time…

I feel like I'm staring at an unending abyss filled with death and darkness." a female dignified voice resounded.

"Then I guess we all have come to a final unified conclusion. Since Ryuken is no longer in control, all we have left to do is…" spoke the first voice.

But in the end, it was all the 7 unified voices that made the declaration…

"Kill him!"