Record of Ragnarok: Ouroboros

Chapter 21: The Emperor

The deceased held the emperor together.

As Yu Huang unleashed a powerful wave of golden energy, Nobunaga tightened his grip on his musket. He focused on the emperor as the tremors from the quake subsided. He gave himself a bitter yet lighthearted laugh, he shook his head, trying to steady himself. The barrel of his musket had cracked, and smoke billowed from the muzzle.

"Calm down, you fool...You have not lost yet. So, what? He released some energy waves and stopped holding back. I am still standing, aren't I? It will take much more to kill me. I just need to raise my musket and shoot him in the head!" Nobunaga mused, slowly raising his musket towards Yu Huang's head. The dark flames in his eyes flared up, growing stronger with each moment of his unwavering resolve to win. Just as Nobunaga was about to aim his musket at Yu Huang's head, the emperor abruptly turned around. He fled into the darkness on humanity's side of the arena, hiding within the castles. This baffled everyone, except for Zeus, Perun, Veles, and Hel, who remained unperplexed.

"...What!? Yu Huang suddenly pulled back from the battlefield after all that bravado attempt! What could he be thinking?!" Heimdall shouted, the daimyo's frustration growing and only adding to Nobunaga's annoyance as he chased Yu Huang, following the god into the shadows.

"Bastard! You promised me a fair fight by dropping the act. So why are you backing out now?! I highly doubt you're scared." Nobunaga muttered, his gaze sharp as he carefully observed the castles and the shifting shadows around him.

As Nobunaga cautiously moved deeper into the shadows, he heard a faint rustling behind him. He immediately spun around and started shooting at whatever was making that tiny sound. He panted as he saw Yu Huang standing behind him with a massive hole on his forehead, leaking blood and parts of his brain out before collapsing on the ground.

The audience fell into a silence, stunned. No one utter a word, not even Heimdall. As the watchman prepared to speak, Nobunaga carefully observed Yu Huang's body, only to suddenly feel a chilling sensation on his shoulder. Sweating, he swiftly turned around. His face twisted in disbelief when he saw Yu Huang standing behind him, not even looking at him, casually resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait what? Oh, OH! THERE ARE TWO YU HUANGS ON THE ARENA! ONE IS DEAD AND ONE IS ALIVE!!" Heimdall proclaimed, shocking everyone, including Nobunaga himself. The daimyo then immediately fired his musket at the second Yu Huang's head, penetrating through it and killing him instantaneously. However, Nobunaga was unsure about his kill and turned around to see another Yu Huang directly before him. Without hesitation, he shot through the emperor's head, killing the third Yu Huang. Extremely worried, he whirled around and began firing at will, piercing through multiple castles around him until they all crumbled.

After the castles around him were blasted into oblivion, Nobunaga calmed himself and analyzed what had occurred. There are three Yu Huangs in the same spot, which is not a hallucination because Heimdall and the audience can see the other emperors. Nobunaga wiped his sweat away before detecting a powerful presence behind him once more. He turned around to see Yu Huang directly behind him.

Nobunaga attempted to aim his musket at Yu Huang, but the emperor snatched the barrel before it reached him and delivered a headbutt to Nobunaga's face. Yu Huang's legs immediately pushed themselves toward Nobunaga after the headbutt landed, creating a massive shockwave that broke the ground beneath them and grazed the daimyo's skin before charging into another castle, causing Nobunaga to crash into it, back first. After crashing through the castle, Yu Huang swiftly swept Nobunaga's legs, causing him to tumble onto his stomach, Yu Huang then threw away the daimyo's musket.