Flying through the air itself, Tsutsumi used the form of Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven, to soar across the sky. His long, flowing green hair and oversized white shirt waved wildly against the cold wind as he continued moving forward without slowing down. Floating high above the snowy land below, his dull eyes shifted toward the cold winter kingdom of Atlas in the distance, its massive structures slowly becoming clearer as he approached.
The cold wind continued blowing against his face, pushing his long hair behind him as the temperature gradually dropped the closer he got to Atlas. The snowy landscape stretched endlessly beneath him, with forests and frozen mountains covering most of the land.
A series of low growls eventually caught his attention. His dull eyes shifted toward the ground below, where multiple Grimms were emerging from the treelines. Their ominous crimson eyes immediately locked onto him as they stepped out from between the snow-covered trees, clearly noticing the strange figure flying through the sky above them.
Tsutsumi simply ignored them.
He didn't slow down, change direction, or even bother with them. The Grimms were nothing more than another group of creatures that happened to notice him while he was passing through their territory. They weren't his target, and there was no reason for him to waste his time fighting them.
His gaze remained fixed on the heavy metal fortress in the distance.
Out of all four Kingdoms in Remnant, Atlas was the strongest when it came to military power and structure. Unlike the other Kingdoms, Atlas had refused to completely follow the post-war norm of abandoning large standing militaries. Instead, it had maintained a massive, high-tech military force that was directly connected to its Academy and government.
Even from a distance, Tsutsumi could already see the difference.
The kingdom was built around a futuristic and clinical science-fiction aesthetic, with sleek white-and-gray buildings, massive metal structures, hard-light Dust shields, enormous air fleets, laser turrets, and automated android sentinels protecting its territory. Everything about Atlas was designed around efficiency, technology, and military strength, making it feel more like a massive fortress than a traditional kingdom.
The other Kingdoms were completely different.
Vale carried more of a classic European fantasy appearance, with traditional stone castle walls mixed together with modern infrastructure. Despite its military weakness compared to Atlas, there was something more grounded about Vale's architecture, giving it the appearance of a safe and welcoming "beacon of light" surrounded by the chaos of the world.
Vacuo was almost the complete opposite.
Its rough-and-tumble desert oasis design was built around survival. Most of its structures were pragmatic and designed to withstand the harsh desert conditions, constant Grimm migration, and lack of reliable resources. The people of Vacuo had learned to make do with what they had, and the entire kingdom reflected that attitude.
Then there was Mistral.
Mistral carried a more traditional East Asian style, with terraced and multi-tiered architecture built directly into the mountainsides. Its buildings and streets were heavily influenced by traditional Japanese and Chinese artistic designs, making the kingdom look completely different from the other three.
Perhaps because of that similarity to his homeland, Japan, Tsutsumi hesitated slightly whenever he thought about attacking Mistral.
It would actually be simpler than attacking Atlas.
He knew that.
Mistral didn't possess anything close to Atlas's overwhelming military structure, meaning there would be far fewer obstacles standing in his way. If he really wanted to, he could probably walk into the kingdom and tear through whatever defenses they had before anyone could properly react.
Yet despite knowing that, Tsutsumi still found himself hesitating. Maybe it was because Mistral reminded him of home. Or perhaps... He was simply afraid of meeting them.
Pyrrha's family.
Tsutsumi's team knew the truth. They knew that Ozpin was responsible for what happened to Pyrrha and that Amber had been involved in the entire situation because of Wiseman's actions. They knew Pyrrha's soul had been slowly killed off inside her own body and that they had done everything they could to try and save her.
The Idle Transfiguration technique in his possession can't save her; it reshapes the soul, not generate missing pieces of a dying soul. Trying to twist whatever was left of her soul wouldn't save her; it would only harm her.
Which is why, even after trying everything they could, the three only managed to separate Amber's soul from Pyrrha.
From the perspective of everyone else in the world, Tsutsumi and his team had been the ones responsible for Pyrrha's death.
He already knew that Salem's pawns had caused the fall of Vale and deliberately recorded everything before transmitting it to the entire world. They had made sure that everyone saw the destruction, the fighting, and the aftermath, while carefully leaving out the truth behind what had actually happened to Pyrrha.
As far as the world was concerned, the people standing beside Tsutsumi had become the ones responsible for her death.
That meant her family probably believed the same thing.
Even if Tsutsumi went to them and explained everything, what would it accomplish?
He could tell them about Ozpin. He could explain Amber. He could explain what had happened to Pyrrha's soul and tell them that he and his teammates had been trying to save her.
But would they believe him?
Why would they?
From their perspective, the person standing in front of them would still be the one whom the entire world believed had murdered their daughter.
Tsutsumi's expression remained dull as Atlas slowly grew larger in the distance.
He had fought monsters, gods, Riders, and beings that could destroy entire worlds. He had faced enemies who wanted him dead and people who had tried to take everything from him.
Yet the thought of standing in front of Pyrrha's family felt strangely different.
There was nothing he could fight. Nothing he could destroy to make the situation easier. Even if he told them the truth, he couldn't bring Pyrrha back without destroying this world. And even if they believed him, that wouldn't erase the pain of losing their daughter, nor make it easier to accept that the only method to let their daughter come back to life is for him to destroy this world to recreate a new one.
Tsutsumi's journey continued toward Atlas, and the massive metal kingdom soon filled more and more of his vision as he approached its borders.
...
The red alarm flares went off throughout Atlas Academy as Huntsmen and Huntresses quickly moved into position. Metal doors slammed shut one after another behind them, sealing off the different sections of the academy as soldiers, staff members, and Atlesian Knights turned toward the heavy doors ahead of them. Their ranged weapons were raised, Dust weapons were prepared, and everyone waited for whatever had triggered the alarm to finally appear.
Yet nearly five minutes passed, and nothing happened. The silence only made everyone more nervous.
Some of the Huntsmen glanced at each other, unsure whether they had missed something. Others kept their weapons trained on the doors, waiting for them to suddenly explode open. The Atlesian Knights stood completely still, their weapons already aimed forward as they waited for the being that had attacked the academy.
Without warning, something had come flying over the academy walls.
A green-haired figure with an androgynous face, wearing nothing more than an oversized white shirt and long white pants, suddenly flew through the air and landed inside Atlas Academy.
There was no warning, demand, or explanation. The moment he touched the ground, he attacked.
This caused the entire academy to immediately go into high alert.
The Huntsmen and Huntresses opened fire, while the soldiers moved into formation and the Atlesian Knights began firing their weapons. However, the strange individual's main weapon wasn't a gun, sword, or even a conventional Dust weapon.
It was a collection of golden chains.
The Chains of Heaven shot outward from every direction, moving almost like living serpents. Any human who got caught by them was immediately grabbed and thrown away, while the chains wrapped around Atlesian Knights and other machines before crushing their metal bodies with overwhelming strength.
Despite the chaos spreading through the academy, nobody had been killed yet. But that didn't mean nobody would be killed.
Tsutsumi, using the appearance and power of Enkidu, the Ultimate Weapon, continued moving forward like a juggernaut, walking straight through Atlas Academy as though the entire military facility belonged to him.
The attacks coming from every direction couldn't even reach him.
The Chains of Heaven moved according to his will, intercepting bullets, Dust attacks, and weapons before they could get close. Whenever someone tried to rush him directly, another golden chain would appear in front of them and send them flying before they could even swing their weapon.
Even the attacks that managed to slip past the Chains of Heaven couldn't touch him.
Not while Tsutsumi was actively maintaining both Dismantle and Infinity around his body.
Based on Gojo Satoru's Infinity, Tsutsumi had recreated a similar effect through Dismantle, creating a protective layer around himself that constantly surrounded his body with countless tiny invisible cuts. Anything attempting to harm him would be cut apart before it could make contact.
Then there was Infinity itself. The two abilities worked together to form a double layer of protection around his entire body, making attacking him almost completely pointless.
Tsutsumi knew it was overkill. But he simply didn't care anymore.
Because of Pyrrha's death, he had begun to change.
There were moments when Tsutsumi would still instinctively turn his head because he thought he heard Pyrrha's voice. Remembering something she had said to him, something they shared together that had nothing to do with the current situation, and for a moment he would almost forget that she was gone.
Then reality would come back to remind him that she wasn't there anymore. And he could no longer walk beside her, hold her hand, or hear her telling him that everything would be okay.
Pyrrha had been the stubborn girl who had taught him what it was like to be loved, and that he was allowed to love someone again after everything he had already lost.
Losing her left a hole that Tsutsumi didn't know how to fill.
And because Cursed Energy was born from negative human emotions such as grief, anger, and hatred, that pain had naturally become fuel.
His Cursed Energy had increased dramatically. His control over it had improved as well; he could now trigger Black Flash at will. The amount of energy he possessed, and his understanding of how to manipulate it, had grown so much that he no longer needed the Six Eyes to properly use Limitless.
But the increase in power didn't make him feel better.
His grief only grew every time he thought of her.
To stop himself from falling deeper into his own darkness and negative emotions. And not to disappoint those who have loved him...
He focused on his own incompetence instead of drowning himself in grief and being unable to get up.
Tsutsumi had so many abilities. So many different ways he could have become stronger.
Yet how many of them had he actually mastered?
Very few.
He had spent so much time helping other people improve, helping them surpass their limits and discover new ways to use their abilities, while he himself remained stuck using mostly the basics of what his own powers could do.
There were countless abilities inside him that had enormous potential, yet many of them had been left untouched simply because he never took the time to properly explore them.
It was almost laughable when he looked at it from the outside.
He could teach other people how to push themselves further, but when it came to himself, he had stopped moving forward.
Maybe that was part of why Pyrrha's death hurt so much. He had always believed that if he became strong enough, he could protect everyone.
But when it actually mattered, he still couldn't save her. So now, instead of trying to prove anything, Tsutsumi simply kept moving.
From outside the academy walls, he flew toward a specific area inside Atlas.
His pale fingers dug into the metal wall of the structure, and with monstrous strength, he tore open a massive hole. The sound of twisting metal echoed through the facility as the soldiers inside stared at the sudden opening in shock.
Tsutsumi stepped through, his purple eyes immediately locked onto Fria, the Winter Maiden standing inside.
Before anyone could even reach her, golden chains shot out from around Tsutsumi and wrapped themselves around everyone in the room. Soldiers, researchers, and staff members were caught almost instantly, their limbs restrained as the Chains of Heaven held them completely still.
Tsutsumi began walking toward Fria. The old woman stared at him for several seconds before her eyes suddenly began glowing with a bright blue light.
Cold wind gathered around her body. Ice began spreading across the floor. Even while being restrained by the Chains of Heaven, Fria unleashed the power of the Winter Maiden, sending a powerful blizzard directly toward Tsutsumi. The freezing wind filled the room as ice spread outward, attempting to freeze both Tsutsumi and the golden chains binding everyone around them.
"You're wasting your time." Tsutsumi's cold voice cut through the storm.
The blizzard had reached him, but it did absolutely nothing to him.
The freezing wind couldn't even pass through the first protective layer of Dismantle surrounding his body, let alone reach the Infinity beyond it. The same applied to the Chains of Heaven. Fria could freeze them as much as she wanted, but the divine chains were created to bind the gods.
They could only be broken by the hands of men. Her ice simply wasn't enough, especially since they came from the power used by the magic of the Age of Gods.
Unfortunately, the people around her weren't protected by the same defenses. The temperature inside the room continued dropping as Fria's power spread through the area, and the soldiers and researchers caught within the blizzard began collapsing one after another. The intense cold covered their bodies in frost, leaving them unable to continue fighting.
Tsutsumi didn't even look at them.
His left hand shifted from a normal hand into a blade.
Taking one step forward. With one clean swing, the blade struck Fria, ending the Winter Maiden's life and causing the blizzard around the room to disappear almost immediately.
There was only silence left in the room. Tsutsumi stood there for only a moment as his fingers spun to show the Winter Maiden Card before he put it away and turned around.
He walked back toward the hole he had created without saying another word, leaving the ruined room behind him. Once he reached the outside, he flew into the air again and continued toward the location of The Relic of Creation.
...
Looking down at the ground beneath his feet, Tsutsumi's form shifted back to normal as he reached into his belt and pulled out another card. Without wasting any time, he slid it into his Decadriver.
Form Ride: Earthspirit!
The familiar energy immediately spread across his body, changing his appearance once again. His long coat transformed into an asymmetric, dual-colored trench coat, black on one side and beige on the other. Beneath the heavy outerwear was a black-and-grey vertically striped vest that reached down over his torso, paired with fitted dark shorts and opaque stockings. Sturdy, calf-high explorer boots covered his feet, while long dark gloves protected his hands. Several tactical pouches were attached to the utility belt around his waist, giving the entire outfit the appearance of someone prepared to explore dangerous and unfamiliar terrain.
Even his hair changed.
His purple-magenta hair shifted into straight, chin-length dark ash-grey hair, with asymmetrical bangs framing his sharp features. His eyes became a striking deep sapphire blue, while two thin, dark goat-like horns swept backward from his head.
A large geological walking staff appeared in his right hand. It was clearly more specialized than an ordinary walking stick, with a prominent tuning fork built into the top and a raw Originium crystal shard set between its prongs.
Tsutsumi looked at the staff for a moment before giving it a casual spin in his hand. Then he lowered it. The moment the end of the staff touched the ground, the earth beneath his feet began to move.
There was no explosion or violent shockwave. Instead, the stone simply responded to him, shifting and bending as though the ground itself had become something soft and obedient. Small cracks spread across the floor before closing again as the earth rearranged itself around his body.
Tsutsumi allowed himself to sink. His boots disappeared first, followed by his legs and waist, until the ground swallowed the rest of his body without leaving so much as a mark behind.
Rather than digging through the earth, Tsutsumi simply moved through it.
The surrounding stone no longer felt like a solid barrier. With Earthspirit's Originium Arts, it was closer to earth environment altering, allowing him to move beneath Atlas Academy's ground without needing to break through anything.
He continued downward, using the structure of the academy and the surrounding rock as a guide until he reached the sealed vault.
He landed on the ground in front of the sealed door that contained the Relic of Creation.
His form shifted again, this time changing into Wizard Infinity Style.
The transformation was brief. He raised one hand toward the sealed door, and the magical energy surrounding it immediately began to crack apart under the pressure of his power. The lock that had probably taken considerable effort to create was broken almost casually, leaving Tsutsumi standing before the vault with the Relic of Creation within reach.
He simply stepped forward and took it.
Tsutsumi looked down at it for a moment before turning around.
As he walked back toward the place where he had entered, he noticed another large door on the opposite side of the room. That door was the actual entrance meant to prevent anyone from reaching the sealed vault without authorization.
And judging by the faint movement and noise coming from the other side, someone had already noticed something was wrong on the other side. Perhaps Ironwood had received an alarm. Or perhaps one of the guards had realized that the security system had been breached.
Whatever the case was, someone was trying to get inside.
The heavy door began to move.
Tsutsumi didn't bother waiting to see who was on the other side.
His body shifted back into his Earthspirit form, the geological staff appearing in his hand once again. He planted the end of it against the floor, and the earth immediately responded.
The stone walk opened for him. Tsutsumi calmly stepped into it, allowing his body to sink into the stone before the earth closed over him again.
By the time the massive door finally opened, there was nothing left inside the room except the damaged seal and the empty space where the Relic of Creation had once been.
AN: Sorry for the late update, been too busy lately, and I got a bit stuck with a few ideas while writing, making me have to rewrite this chapter a few times.
Do you guys want to hear those scrapped ideas? If so, I can give you guys a quick summary of those scrapped ideas at the end of the next chapter.