<h4>Chapter 52:</h4>


    Meanwhile, With Fire General Kai


    "Shit, shit, shit," Fire General Kai muttered as he rushed towards theva temple. "How can someone want to free Yami? The void queen whose mere presence will consume everything as it once did to the kingdoms of old—Veridian, Argentum, Caelum, and even Elysium, which... which should have been impossible. It was more a concept than a ce," he said, observing the torches'' mes turning a ckish purple.


    "No, no, no," Fire General Kai murmured, struggling to contain his fear. "They are there—these Void Users wanting to free Yami. But why?" he pondered, striving to remain calm. "It doesn''t matter what their n is. All that matters is that I stop them," he thought, entering the main floor of theva temple. There, he saw a hooded figure with several Fire Temple Guards behind him, but they were different, their eyes purple and their normal Fire Aura now a purple me.


    "Well, well, well. What do we have here, the Fire God''s General? Fire General Kai, said to be one of the strongest, if not the second strongest, in the whole Kingdom. I think I will take you and add you to my collection, like I did these guards, and we will serve the beautiful Yami for the end of time," the cloaked figure dered.


    "I am the Fire God''s general, and I will not be added to your collection," Fire General Kai retorted. "I will defeat you and your Disciples of Darkness and make you regret ever messing with the Fire God''s kingdom."


    "Oh, but you act as if I will give you a choice. I am the Void Collector Akuma Yaminoya, and I will get whatever I want. Now, my pets, attack your former general and bring him down to his knees," Akuma Yaminoyamanded.


    "Yes, master," the Void Guard responded in unison, charging at Fire General Kai.


    "You fools will pay," Fire General Kai dered, readying himself for battle. "me Spear Technique: zing Strike!" he yelled,unching a barrage of spears at the Void Fire Guards.


    "Hmph, that was nothing," Akuma Yaminoya remarked, unimpressed, watching the Void Fire Guards surround themselves with Void me shields, which gave their mes void properties, turning anything they touched into nothingness. As a result, Fire General Kai''s mes dissipated upon contact.


    "What, how is that possible? How could they use Void Energy and mix it with their mes?" Fire General Kai wondered aloud.


    "It''s simple, my soon-to-be pet. My technique, Void Corruption, doesn''t just corrupt my targets; it transforms their aura from whatever element they were born with to void. In other words, their elements gain the properties of nothingness. So, if you be my pet, you will gain more power than you ever dreamed of, in exchange for your free will," Akuma Yaminoya exined.


    "Never! I will never let you corrupt me," Fire General Kai dered.


    "Oh, is that so? Well, let''s see if you live up to those words, unlike these guards who said but failed. Now, my pets, kill him," Akuma Yaminoya ordered as the Void Fire Guards resumed their attack.


    "Void me," they chanted, unleashing a barrage of purple me attacks at Fire General Kai.


    "This is bad. If I don''t find a way to block their attacks, I''ll be corrupted and killed. Wait a minute, that''s it," Fire General Kai realized, rolling out of the way of the Void mes and taking cover behind the Braveheart shield.


    "What is he doing? Why did he hide behind the Braveheart Shield?" Akuma Yaminoya wondered, confused, as his Void Fire Guards continued their assault, only to find their attacks ineffective against the relic Fire General Kai was using for protection.


    ''So he''s using the Relic''s nature, immune to existence erasure, to protect himself. Hmm, clever,'' Akuma thought, beforeughing. "You fool, you just alerted me to the real shield, making the fakes your Fire God scattered out here useless," he said triumphantly.


    ''Shit, I cared too much for my life. I have given him the chance to learn where the real shield is,'' Fire General Kai cursed internally. ''But now''s my chance. I should be able to take down the guards while they are distracted celebrating.''


    Enveloping himself in Fire Aura, Fire General Kai drew his sword. "Fire cloak," he whispered, the mes surrounding his body and giving him an ethereal appearance.


    "Now die. Fire de sh," Fire General Kai dered,unching a powerful sh at the first Void Fire Guard, who managed to block with his own sword. "Is that how fast you can move? Come at me, then!" Kai roared, igniting the air around him with intense heat.


    The first Void Fire Guard lunged at Kai with a spear engulfed in dark mes. Kai dodged skillfully, the void mes hissing past him, leaving a trail of nothingness. He counterattacked with a swift sword sh, sending a wave of fire towards the guard. The guard raised a shield, but Kai''s speed was unparalleled. He circled around, delivering a powerful kick that sent the guard crashing into a wall.


    "me Vortex!" Kai shouted, spinning rapidly to create a fiery whirlwind. The vortex engulfed two more guards, their void mes struggling against the intensity of Kai''s fire. However, their void energy eventually overpowered the mes, forcing Kai to retreat.


    "Nice try, but not good enough!" Kai taunted, his eyes burning with determination. He then unleashed a barrage of fireballs, each exploding upon contact with the guards'' shields, creating blinding light and intense heat.


    As the guards regrouped, Kai realized he needed a different strategy. Focusing, he channeled his energy into a single, powerful technique. "Inferno de!" he yelled, his sword now glowing with fierce, white-hot me. He charged forward, slicing through the air with incredible speed. The first guard attempted to block, but the intensity of the me cut through the void shield, sending the guard reeling.


    Kai continued his onught, moving like a ze, striking with precision and speed. Each swing of his sword was a dance of fire and light, leaving the guards disoriented and weakened. As he fought, he could see the surprise in Akuma Yaminoya''s eyes. Kai was not just fighting; he was a force of nature, a tempest of fire and fury.


    But even as he struck down guard after guard, Kai knew this was only part of the battle. With each passing moment, he felt his body burning up, the cost of using the Fire cloak—it granted great speed and some level of defense, but at the risk of his body being burned and turned to ash. He needed to end this quickly.


    Gathering his remaining strength, Kai prepared for his final move. "zing Meteor Strike!" he cried out, leaping high into the air. He descended like aet, his sword engulfed in a massive ball of fire. The impact was colossal, sending a shockwave of heat and light throughout the temple. The remaining guards were knocked off their feet, their void mes extinguished by the overwhelming power of Kai''s attack.


    Breathing heavily, Kai stood amidst the aftermath. Half of his body had been burnt already, turned charcoal ck, and part of his face was burnt. He looked up to see Akuma Yaminoya standing unfazed, with the guards dead bodies.


    "Nice try. You are a powerful man, and I was wrong to underestimate you, but you are not strong enough," Akuma Yaminoya stated.


    ''Crap, this is bad. I can''t beat him. Not with my body so badly damaged and my Aura gone. But what can I do?'' Fire General Kai pondered, preparing to charge at Akuma Yaminoya.


    "Well, I have to thank you for revealing to me the real shield. I was hoping I would have to fight your pathetic Fire God, but since you are here, that''s not necessary. You took my pets; it''s only fair you rece them," Akuma Yaminoya stated as Kai charged him, only for Akuma to charge up Void Energy.


    "Don''t worry, you will live as my pet, my personal attack dog. We will serve Lady Yami toge..." Akuma was interrupted, sent flying by a kick to the face.


    "Not on my watch," Noboru Chikara said.


    "Who are you?" Fire General Kai asked, his body burning spreading.


    "Fire General Kai," he heard, turning to see Sky, La, and Yumeko arrive.


    "That''s Noboru, and he''s with us," La said.


    "Noboru, can you heal him? We can''t lose another ally," Sky asked.


    "No problem," Noboru stated.


    "No, don''t," Fire General Kai protested.


    "Why?" La inquired.


    "My body is beyond repair. Don''t waste your Aura," Fire General Kai replied.


    "Don''t worry, I can heal you," Noboru assured, coating his hand in Omni Energy and willing it to heal Fire General Kai. And with that, he was healed.


    "Thank you, Noboru. Thank you, everyone," Fire General Kai said, his voice filled with gratitude.


    "It''s no problem, but why did you attack that Disciple of Darkness Member if you''re no match for him?" Noboru inquired.


    "Because it''s my job as the Fire General to protect the Braveheart shield. It''s my duty to stop anyone and everyone who wants to unleash the Void," Fire General Kai exined.


    "Well, now you can rx," Noboru said, his tone reassuring, before he turned to Akuma Yaminoya and added, "You can trust us to handle this."