VS
Author: Ultimate Ditto
Word Count: 6,591
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Sheets of ice formed a thick layer over the Arctic Ocean, creating an uncertain terrain that could plunge a person or animal into the unforgiving freezing, black water below with one wrong step. Large icebergs took the place of hills and mountains in this aquatic desert, large chunks of ice occasionally breaking off and smashing through the layers of ice below.
From one lone iceberg, more and more chunks of ice fell to water below, drifting away in all directions. If anyone had been present, they would have noticed the iceberg gently sway beneath the surface. More and more chunks of ice began to break away from the ice monolith, each one larger than the last. From within the larger chunks of ice, vague silhouettes of unknown creatures could be seen from within.
Large cracks began to form on the iceberg, crawling up the colossal ice mass, a loud roar echoed from beneath the surface. As the iceberg crumbled apart, the sound of ice crumbling filled the eerie silence of the Arctic. Suddenly, large red claws broke through the ice, the hands of a giant creature scraped the sides of the ice, pulling itself free from its icy prison. Orange spheres embedded in the palm of the beast's hands began to crackle with red electricity, running up its flailing arms.
From the dark clouds above, red lightning rained down and beat upon the mammoth iceberg, the sound akin to bombs exploding. From within the ice, fiery orange eyes shined with life, causing the creature's icey tomb to instantly shatter into millions upon millions of ice boulders. Frozen mist and chunks of snow and ice fell to the ocean like rain, no longer contained, a navy blue reptilian monster howled with newfound vigor to the heavens above as crimson lightning slammed into the water around it. The sea monster dipped below the agitated waves, the large fins on its back sliced through the ocean with ease, sheets of ice were shattered apart as they were forcefully pushed away.
Not far behind the aquatic saurian, dozens of armored sea beasts had broken from their frozen containment, adorned with natural armor, the bony fish resembled the long extinct mosasaurus. Although smaller in size, these beasts from a bygone era had rows of razor sharp teeth and a muscular frame that gave away their predatory nature, some breached the water like the dolphins of the modern day, some snapped their powerful jaws at any fish unfortunate enough to get in their way. They all followed behind the massive sea monster, searching for warmer water.
---
Two weeks later
The afternoon sun shined down on the beach of Okinawa, the pristine water glistened as the waves rolled up and down the shore. The mighty castle complex of the Azumi royal family sat in the distance, it's impressive frame overlooking the beach. From a balcony on the highest level of the castle, a young boy dressed in sapphire blue royal garbs watched the ocean with content, lost in his own world as he daydreamed.
"Akihiko, Akihiko, Akihiko!" A mature woman's voice pierced through his thoughts. Swiftly turning around, the young boy faced the woman calling him. "Y-yes Mom?" He said softly.
The older woman smiled softly at her son, dressed in similar royal blue garments. She stepped onto the balcony, staring out to the beach. "It's time for practice, come downstairs please." Akihiko sighed, dragging his feet as he moved across the room.
"Mom, why do I have to learn to sing? Isn't that something girls are good at?" Akihiko made his lack of enthusiasm known. "Young men can sing just as well, sometimes better than young ladies. Besides, you know how important this song is to our family, it is crucial that you learn it." Akihiko's mother said with a gentle yet stern tone. Putting her hand on her son's shoulder as they walked down the halls of the castle.
---
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from Okinawa, a large fishing boat traversed the ocean, returning to Okinawa after a hard day's work. Two crew members sipped on beers as the captain drove towards home, Okinawa, tiny in the distance, but it wouldn't be long before they reached the harbors.
Two other crew members kept their eyes on the catch of the day, longing to get back home. Dark storm clouds began to roll in, causing a light rain to drizzle down from above, the two crew members drinking their beer nearly choked when the boat began to rock violently. "What in the sam hell is that!?" One man looked out to the ocean staring in disbelief as he saw large fins breach the water around the boat. Suddenly, aquatic dinosaur-like creatures breached the water before diving back into the ocean, keeping up with the boat.
Behind the boat, enormous dorsal fins broke through the water, speeding towards the vessel before sinking under the water. The two crew members watching over the catch were knocked off of their feet as the rocking intensified. The captain shifted the boat into full throttle In an attempt to make it to shore faster.
Grabbing on to any equipment, one crew member dropped his beer onto deck, the shattered glass and alcohol sliding off the boat. Suddenly one of the many sea monsters burst from the water and slammed onto the deck before the horrified man. Lunging forward, the armored fish clamped down on the man's leg with its toothy jaws, prying him off the boat with sheer force and dragging its soon to be meal into the ocean.
Hearing his friend's screams of terror, the crewmate's drinking buddy watched in horror as his comrade desperately clawed at the slippery deck as he was dragged into the water. The rain was heavy now, beating down relentlessly on the boat and its crew, thunder boomed as crimson lighting struck the water nearby. Among the harsh rainfall, a loud bassy roar practically drowned out all other sounds.
Some questioned whether or not it was the thunder, some wanted to believe it was their own imagination, but they would not have to wonder for long. The water beneath the boat began to bulge and expand like a balloon, before erupting like a volcano. Large theropod-like jaws clamped down on the shipping vessel, teeth the size of school buses pierced through the boat with ease. Thousands of gallons of water slammed into the ocean below as the bewildered crew screamed in terror.
Shaking its head violently, the colossal navy blue saurian broke apart the boat before throwing its head up and releasing its catch. Hundreds of fish rained down into the sea monster's jaws, the crew of the boat yelled helplessly as they disappeared into the black void that was the giant monster's gullet. The captain stretched out his hand and cried out one final word.
"Caesar!"
---
"That was beautiful son, I'm so proud of you." Akihiko's mother smiled as she applauded her child. Akihiko grinned with embarrassment, before a middle aged man entered the room. "He was flat at the end, but still a good performance." Akihiko's mother glanced at her husband with a look of disapproval, Akihiko's father silently mouthed, "what?" to her.
"Well anyways, it's time for your next lesson and then you're free for the day." The young boy's father stated. Akihiko placed a cushion on the wooden floor and sat in front of his father, who did the same. The gentle breeze cooled the room as the sky was turning gray. "Now then, let me tell you about the importance of Caesar and the hunt. You see, in the olden days of Okinawa, people prayed to King Caesar for bountiful catches. Today people still do when they got to fish, earning Caesar the nickname 'Huntmaster'."
Rain began to fall outside the castle, Akihiko's mother went to the balcony and closed the sliding door and curtains. Akihiko's father turned the lights on as he continued to explain to the boy about hunting and faith. "Legend has it that Caesar caught a blue whale that fed the people of Okinawa for days! A huge celebration was held in his honor."
Akihiko, while interested in the tales of the Okinawa deity, couldn't help but ask the question gnawing at him in the back of his mind. "Father, those stories are great and all, but does King Caesar, you know, actually exist?" The young boy winced as he prepared to get scolded by his parents for his lack of faith.
The older woman looked to her husband as he looked at her. "Well you're jumping ahead quite a bit, but, I think we can do things a bit differently today." Standing up, Akihiko's father moved towards a dresser and opened the top drawer, taking out a wooden box. His finger glided over the box, before pressing on a hidden button that popped the lid open.
Pulling out five photographs, Akihiko's father put the box atop the dresser and went back to his son. Sitting back down, the man handed the photographs to his son. "Careful, these are incredibly precious." He cautioned his son.
The young boy looked at one photograph, a large metal dragon spewing fire down on a city. The second photograph showed a black dinosaur-like monster fighting the metal dragon. "Godzilla?" Akihiko said as he tilted his head. "That's right, long ago your mother's mother had a vision of that Mechagodzilla thing attacking Okinawa, and how a prophecy stated that two monsters would rise to save the world." The older man pointed his finger to the next photograph.
Holding up the third photo, Akihiko's eyes widened as a golden bipedal lion stood beside Godzilla, both monster's backs faced the camera as they stood before Mechagodzilla. The fourth photo showed Godzilla holding Mechagodzilla in a lock with the golden lion kicking the machine in the stomach. And finally, the last photo was a picture of the lion monster inside a mountain, its ruby red eyes staring back at Akihiko, almost as if they had pierced through his soul. "Caesar?" The young boy murmured as he studied the photos.
"That's right, your grandmother was the one who summoned King Caesar, both he and Godzilla protected us from destruction." Akihiko's mother stated. "Our guardian is very much alive, that's why it is important for you to put your faith in him, one day we may need his protection again."
Nodding in agreement, Akihiko's father waited for the sound of jets to pass before speaking. "Today could be the day that Caesar returns, or it could be tomorrow, or a hundred years from now. That's why we must all be ready, including you." The man carefully picked the photos from his son's hands before going over to the dresser and placing the photos in their box before putting the container away.
---
Rain poured down relentlessly on Okinawa, crimson lighting occasionally slammed against the ground, causing small explosions and leaving scorched earth. A plethora of fighter jets surveyed the waters off of the large island, soon, the water began to bubble and froth.
From the depths, the head of a large sea monster breached the surface. Its dinosaur like head surveyed its surroundings with glowing blood red eyes. The beast opened its toothy jaws and let out a bellowing roar that overlapped with the thunder of the storm. On each side of the saurian's face, orange gem-like orbs were embedded in the creature's cheeks, crackling with red energy.
Missiles and gun fire pelted the navy blue scales of the deep sea dweller. The oceanic leviathan shrugged off the fire power with little effort. As it continued to trek up to shore, three more orange spheres were revealed to be embedded along the monster's sides. Its yellow underbelly contrasted with its deep blue scales, the monster's long tail flicked out of the water, the tail fin swatting down any fighter jet that got too close.
Red claws on the beast's feet sunk into the sand of the Miyagi Coast as it marched further inland. As more jets tried to ward off the monster, they were ill prepared for raw power of the sea monster. Crimson electrical energy crackled from the many orange orbs embedded in the creature's skin.
Storm clouds flashed hues of red as red and blue bolts of lightning struck down a majority of the fighter jets, balls of fire rained down into the ocean. The deep sea terror roared out in triumph as it reached the city. More crimson bolts of electric energy pelted the monster's hide, opening its mouth, a red ball of light formed in the saurian's throat.
A hellacious beam of red electrical energy swept across the city, buildings were instantly vaporized as large explosions went off in rapid succession, bathing the city in a sea of flames. The deep sea dweller ceased the beam of energy flowing from its jaws. Bellowing out a thunderous roar that established the monster's dominance.
---
From within the Azumi family royal castle, Akihiko and his parents heard the muffled sounds of explosions, and thunder from outside. All three stepped out onto the balcony ignoring the pouring rain. From their perch, they could see the large columns smoke and fires being smothered by rain in the distance. Their eyes widened in shock ss they witnessed the navy blue beast decimate the city.
The family watched as the sea monster summoned more crimson lighting, its body drew in the energy and soaked it up like a sponge. Spewing another beam of concentrated electrical energy, the royal family could feel the ground shake as more explosions rattled the whole area.
Akihiko stared in amazement as he muttered. "Raiga." Looking down at his son, Akihiko's father replied "What was that?"
"I read about a deity named Raiga that could control storms, so I'm calling him Raiga." Akihiko continued to stare.
"Well this isn't good, there's only one being who can possibly stand up to that foul lizard." Akihiko's father stated as he put a hand to his chin. The young boy lit up as he looked to his father. " King Caesar! Please let me summon him Father, this is what I've been practicing for after all."
Immediately the boy's mother retorted. "No!" "But Mom!" Akihiko whined. Stepping in, Akihiko's father urged his wife to reconsider. "I agree with Akihiko, he should be the one to summon Caesar, besides, we'll be right behind him." The older man continued. "Now is the perfect opportunity for him to learn, and to see King Caesar for himself."
Even though her motherly instincts were pleading no, Akihiko's mother tried to reassure herself by telling herself that she would be right by her son's side. "Just put a coat on, I don't want you to get sick."
Holding a stone statue of a shisa in his arms, Akihiko winced as he was bombarded with heavy rain. Traversing the muddy beach, the young boy could see Mazange cliff, the resting place of King Caesar. The boys parents weren't too far behind, they watched intently as Akihiko lifted up the statue, another explosion could be heard in the distance, but the husband and wife ignored it.
Lifting the statue up, Akihiko waited for something to happen, but nothing did. "I don't understand, come on, do something!" Akihiko shouted as the rain drowned out his voice. Still nothing happened. "Please, I believe, save us King Caesar, we need you." The boy whispered as tears rolled down his cheek.
Despite the grey and black storm cloud that seemed to block out the sun, casting an ominous shadow over Okinawa, rays of light occasionally pushed past the storm clouds. Akihiko looked up as best as he could regardless of the downpour. Light from the sun peered out of the clouds, washing over the young boy and the shisa statue.
Although he couldn't see it, the gems used for the statue's eyes began to glow a dazzling red. Before the young boy knew it, a red beam of energy shot from the shisa statue, knocking Akihiko off his feet.
Landing on his rear on the muddy ground, Akihiko stared at the cliff with amazement as boulders crumbled to the ground below. From within the cliff, the head of the mighty lion dog guardian, adorned with a spikey crown with a large horn and a green gem in the center, King Caesar stared blankly with dim ruby red eyes.
"You need to sing the song son!" Akihiko's father yelled out. "Oh right, well here goes nothing." Akihiko said as he cleared his throat.
"The light of the shining sun
Breaks through the darkest of veils."
"On this beautiful day, from within the mountains
the mighty king awakens from his rest."
"The sun smiles on Caesar."
"Born from this very earth, we await our rugged champion."
"Caesar, lend us your warrior will, our beloved lion dog, protect us on this day."
"Hear your people's pleas, their screams for your help."
"Lend us your mighty strength please!"
"Our hearts are crying, our souls are crying
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Our King Caesar!"
As the lyrics from the ancient song left Akihiko's lips and reached the guardian's floppy ears, the protector's red prism eyes softly glowed. The intensity of the light increased before King Caesar's eyes were shining bright with life.
Letting out a mighty roar, King Caesar broke through the rock containing him, shaking the dust and dirt off of his golden fur. Bronze skin flexed as muscles and joints popped after years of being stiff. Looking down on the royal family, King Caesar gently nodded to them as he looked to the distance, seeing the dreaded Raiga terrorizing his land.
Meanwhile, Raiga was oblivious to the awakening of the shisa guardian, too enthralled in the destruction it was dealing to the island. Letting out an ear piercing roar, the deep sea leviathan casually bent over, ready to mark its territory and carry on elsewhere. However, a large boulder collided with the navy blue sea monster's head as a loud thunk echoed throughout the stormy island. Forcing a shriek of pain and confusion from the beast's jaws, Raiga almost tipped over but caught itself, standing upright and scratching its head as it looked around.
Hearing an equally mighty roar behind it, Raiga twisted around and snarled at whatever dared defy it. The aquatic saurian's fiery orange eyes widened at the sight before it, throwing a boulder up and down in his palm, a bipedal lion dog with shiny gold fur and clay brown skin growled at the sea monster with furrowed brows. The Okinawa guardian wasn't about to let Raiga desecrate the island any further, not on his watch.
King Caesar roared as he tossed another boulder at Raiga, who was more prepared for the attack this time. Swatting the boulder away and into the sea, the sea monster began marching toward the shisa warrior, large footprints sunk into the muddy beach. Raiga growled, the closer it got, the more entranced it became with the soft red glow of King Caesar's ruby gem eyes against the light fog that accompanied the rain.
Flicking his tail, King Caesar's floppy ears shot upward, mimicking a pair of mighty horns. Setting his arms to his sides, King Caesar flexed his claws as he bent his legs, ready to regulate at any moment. As the rain pelted both beasts, Raiga stopped a couple hundred meters away from the protector, both staring the other down and sizing each other up.
Roaring a deep and powerful roar, King Caesar charged at Raiga with impressive speed, kicking up mud as he charged at the sea monster. Raiga was taken aback by King Caesar's speed, the navy blue reptilian was wide open as the shisa guardian shoulder tackled the aquatic saurian, knocking the wind out of its lungs.
Doubling over in pain, Raiga gasped for air as King Caesar stepped back before slamming his knee into the leviathan's ribs. Squealing in pain, Raiga leaned forward more as it tried to swipe at the lion dog, however, the Okinawa guardian evaded each swipe and wrapped his arms around the sea monster's neck. Letting out a mighty bellow, King Caesar threw Raiga down to the mud below and began raining fists on the beast's hide.
The royal family watched in amazement as King Caesar beat down the sea monster. Realizing they were still in the rain and very close to the battle, the family ran back to the safety of the castle to watch from afar.
Flinging its own tail forward, Raiga slammed the back of King Caesar's head with the powerful limb, forcing a yelp of pain from the lion dog as he fell face first into the mud. Pushing himself up, King Caesar shook the gray brown gunk off of his face and golden fur. The guardian was almost to his feet when he felt a pair of claws clasp the sides of his head.
Letting out a terrible roar, Raiga threw King Caesar aside and back down to the ground. Growling with frustration, King Caesar tried to rise up, but was knocked down by the deep sea leviathan. Rolling onto his side, the Okinawa guardian watched in shock as Raiga hunched over and began to draw blue and red lightning into the orange orbs embedded in its body, using the massive dorsal fins on its back as organic lightning rods.
Ceasing the moment to recover, King Caesar rose up and snarled, setting his arms to his sides as he prepared for his opponent's retaliation. Raiga's body crackled with red energy as it opened its jaws, allowing the energy to dance wildly in its throat.
Glaring at the shisa with malice, Raiga opened fire on the mammalian monster, red bolts of lightning converged into a singular beam of energy that sped towards King Caesar. The mighty guardian made no attempt to dodge or deflect the blast, instead the lion dog stood his ground and stared directly into the potent energy beam.
The energy beam struck King Caesar's face but no explosion came. Raiga ceased fire as it watched the beam seemingly vanish, still standing tall, King Caesar grinned as his left eye shined brightly. Suddenly, the same electric beam of energy Raiga had fired previously was being thrown back at the sea monster.
Raiga gasped as it was hit head on by its own attack, even being pushed back by the beam. As the last remnants of the beam left King Caesar's eye, he growled in content at the damage done, however, the shisa took note of the odd satisfaction of his foe.
Although the deep blue scales of the aquatic saurian were smoking from the energy attack, Raiga was cackling wildly as it successfully absorbed the redirected lightning beam. Crimson bolts of energy crackled along the monster's frame, Raiga could feel that the redirected energy was somehow stronger than the original attack. Hoping to repeat the process and grow even stronger, Raiga prepared another round of electric energy in its toothy mouth.
King Caesar was a faster learner however, as Raiga fired another devastating lighting blast. The Okinawa guardian absorbed the crimson beam into his right eye and tilted his head downwards. Redirecting the blast and firing it out of his left eye, King Caesar struck the ground in front of him and slowly craned his head upwards, causing the beam to lance across the beach. Plumes of dirt erupted into the air as both combatants were obscured by the dirt.
Screeching in shock, Raiga tried to rub its eyes as dirt particles had obstructed its vision. Forcing its eyes open, Raiga gasped as King Caesar was suddenly before it. Bellowing with fury, the shisa warrior shoulder tackled the sea monster in the chest with immense force, a loud boom could be heard as Raiga wheezed in pain, stumbling backwards.
Refusing to relent, King Caesar backed up and charged again, before throwing himself forward and shoulder tackling Raiga's chest once more. Roaring with an unbridled fury as the leviathan was forced back. Snarling, Raiga raised its blood red claws and brought them down as bolts of blue and crimson lightning rained down from above.
Sand and mud erupted from the beach as the lightning bolts collided with the ground. King Caesar roared in pain as his body was pelted by lightning, a shower of sparks fell from his frame as loud booms echoed throughout the island.
Falling to one knee, King Caesar panted as smoke rose from his golden fur, curling from the immense heat. The rain quickly put out any fire clinging to the shisa warrior. Attempting to rise, King Caesar saw Raiga charging towards him, the guardian raised his arm up as Raiga lunged forward and clamped it's jaws down on the protector's limb.
To the surprise of the sea monster, instead of biting into flesh and tasting blood, Raiga felt as if it had bitten into a rock. The navy blue beast wasn't too far off, although King Caesar was alive, he was not an organic being like Raiga. His skin was made of concrete and brick, a living golem.
King Caesar raked Raiga's snout with his free hand, sparks flew off the sea monster as blood trickled from the cuts. Releasing its bite, Raiga backed up as it roared in pain. The stone golem growled as he lunged forward, headbutting the aquatic saurian in the chest. The horn atop his head pierced into the reptilian monster's flesh, spilling crimson blood onto the muddy beach as another wail of pain escaped Raiga's jaws.
Once again grabbing King Caesar's head between its clutches, Raiga forced the Okinawa guardian out of itself. A fresh stream of blood trickled down the sea monster's body. Raising its knee up, Raiga slammed its knee against Caesar's face, sending the golden protector reeling back in pain as he roared in pain.
Rubbing his snout, King Caesar prepared to charge again, but Raiga swiftly turned like a tank and slammed its finned tail into the golem. Feeling the powerful limb smash into his ribcage, King Caesar bellowed in fury as he was thrown to the ground, rolling into the shallow water along the coastline.
The orange orbs embedded along Raiga's body began to glow as the intensity of the lights began to increase. King Caesar prepared to charge at him, but was stopped as a swarm of small mosasaur-like devil bonefish sprang from the water and chewed on the shisa. King Caesar swatted the sea creatures aside as he focused on Raiga.
Although the smaller sea monsters did little to harm the mammalian golem, the sheer number of them was enough to concern the shisa with the safety of the Okinawa people. Meanwhile, Raiga began to glow with a brilliant white light that engulfed its whole body before dissipating.
A protective film covered the sea monster's fiery orange crocodilian eyes as it clamped its palms together, red and blue lightning formed between the orange orbs embedded within. Marching out of the infested water, King Caesar shook his body vigorously as multiple bonefish fell to their deaths below.
Howling in rage, Raiga fired multiple bolts of lighting wildly from his palms, jagged bolts of electricity tore up the beach. King Caesar covered his face with his arms as crimson lighting lanced across his gold and brown frame. Smoke and sparks fell from his hide as he was forced back again, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a large pillar of stone.
Diving behind the stone structure, the sound of booming thunder and crumbling rock filled the shisa's ears. Peering from behind the rock, King Caesar saw Raiga panting as the sea monster had seemingly exhausted its energy reserves.
From the highest balcony of the Izumi castle, Akihiko stared at the stone guardian, muttering to himself. "Amazing." The Royal family watched as King Caesar stepped out from the structure and cautiously approached the sea monster.
Both monsters stared each other down, Raiga flexed its blood red claws as it panted, recuperating from using so many energy based attacks in succession. Rubbing the puncture wound King Caesar had inflicted, the sea monster snarled in anger as it bellowed out to the shisa.
Returning the gesture, King Caesar roared to the heavens as he charged head first into battle. Raiga growled as it raised a clawed hand up to protect the fresh chest wound. The protector tackled the sea monster's hand but was pushed back forcefully by the leviathan.
Summoning another round of red lightning in its jaws, Raiga aimed at King Caesar and fired its signature energy beam. With impressive reflexes, King Caesar tightened his artificial leg muscles and sprang into the air with unbelievable might and leapt over the sea monster, easily avoiding the attack.
Sand kicked up into the air as Raiga completely missed the Shisa, as the smoke and sand dissipated, the navy blue monster could not find any trace of the mammalian golem. Roaring out a victorious bellow, Raiga was ready to resume its path of destruction, that was, until it felt something rough grasp its tail.
Letting out a furious roar, King Caesar pulled back and dragged the sea monster off its feet. Raiga landed face first into the mud as it screeched in shock, clawing at the ground in front of it. Planting his feet firmly into the ground, King Caesar began to spin himself like a top, dragging Raiga across the sopping wet dirt. Suddenly, the leviathan felt itself lifted off the ground as the momentum upheaved the hefty beast.
King Caesar spun Raiga like a ball and chain, reminiscent of an olympic hammer thrower, King Caesar let the momentum guide him as he planned to get this threat off of his land. Due to his inorganic nature, King Caesar was not as susceptible to dizziness, Raiga was not so fortunate.
Releasing his grip, King Caesar let the momentum do the work as Raiga was hurled hundreds of meters into the sea. Slamming into the sea with pure force, Raiga sent seawater a mile high into the cloudy sky. The stone shisa sighed with relief as the finned tail of Riaga disappeared into the dark water.
Moments went by, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Having believed the sea monster to be defeated, King Caesar focused on his next task, getting rid of the devil bonefish. As King Caesar was about to step in the water, the sea erupted and a familiar roar filled the golem's ears.
If the golem's ruby red eyes could widen, they would. Raiga roared out as bolts of lightning pelted his hide, the saurian opened its jaws and fired a potent lightning blast wildly. Moving its head around violently, the beam lanced across the ocean, frying dozens of bonefish in its path. King Caesar tried to redirect the bolts, but the unruly nature of the beams prevented it, instead a crimson bolt of lightning struck the shisa's chest, knocking the guardian down to the ground.
Raiga was already at the shore, the lightning that pelted its navy blue scales had cauterized the puncture wound on its chest. Straining to get up, King Caesar charged at the deep sea leviathan, both monsters roared out in fury as stone met flesh. Both monsters collided into one another, trying to topple the other one.
Letting out a guttural roar, King Caesar poured every ounce of strength into his artificial muscles and dragged the larger saurian down to the dirt. With a powerful Kick, the golem sent Raiga toward the edge of the burning city.
The sound of fire crackled as Raiga rose up to full height, rain rolled down its body. Snarling at King Caesar, Raiga held its right hand out, allowing crimson bolts of electricity to converge on the orange sphere in its palm.
King Caesar watched as a large ball of energy began to form and expand rapidly in the sea monster's claws. Raiga roared out in fury as it hurled the sphere with all it's dinosaurian might, the energy ball crackled with power as it shot through the air and towards the lion dog.
Speeding towards King Caesar with impressive speed, the crackling ball of energy slammed into the guardian, forcing the golem backwards as his clawed feet carved large trenches into the ground. The mammalian guardian howled in agony as he was lifted into the air, the energy ball singed his golden mane and scorched his brick-like skin. The energy sphere then exploded in a shining ball of fire, the smoldering form of King Caesar fell from above and onto the mud with a thump, smoke rolled and curled off of his burnt form as he groaned softly.
Claws dug into the wet dirt as the shisa gritted his teeth, straining to push himself off of the ground. Just as the lion dog pushed himself up, a clawed foot pressed down on his rocky head, forcing him back down. Raiga roared triumphantly as the sea monster smothered the guardian's face into the mud.
Tears began well up in Akihiko's eyes as he watched King Caesar get stomped on by the sea monster. His parents watched with distraught as Raiga cackled with joy, the both of them silently prayed for their protector. Feeling his emotions swell like a balloon, Akihiko clenched his fists before cupping his hands around his mouth.
Shouting as loud as he could against the storm. "Please get up King Caesar, you can't let yourself lose to this monster!" Akihiko cried out to the Okinawa guardian. Raiga barely heard a thing, but King Caesar's ear twitched as the desperate plea reached him.
Raiga prepared to smash the lion dog's face into the ground again, but felt its foot being repelled back. The suarian roared in shock as it felt itself being toppled backwards. A furious howl escaped the shisa's jaws as he rose up and pushed the sea monster off of himself and to the ground.
Shaking his head to regain his wits, King Caesar breathed heavily as he watched the leviathan rise up, the sea monster stared daggers into the guardian. The Okinawa protector charged at Raiga, bringing forth his claws and raked them across the navy blue monster's yellow chest, blood trickled from the wounds as Raiga cried out, but King Caesar refused to relent.
Rearing his stony fist back, King Caesar socked Raiga across the face, the sea monster's head violently jerked downward as blood flew through the reptilian beast's teeth. Raiga stumbled as it felt a throbbing ache on its face. Raising up a blood red claw, the sea monster felt the orange gem-like orb embedded in its cheek had been shattered, pieces cracked off and fell to the ground below.
King Caesar watched as the light faded from the gem, leaving it dark and dull. An idea then came to the shisa, he knew what he had to do. Raiga bellowed out in fury as it tried to summon lightning, bolts of electricity danced around its slightly injured frame.
Lunging forward King Caesar tackled Raiga to the ground, pinning down the leviathan's right arm. Raiga used its free arm to smack the shisa, however, King Caesar ignored the attack and reared back his fist. The Okinawa guardian brought his fist down upon the glowing orange sphere in the palm of the sea monster, shattering it on impact.
Blue and red bolts of lightning shot from the broken sphere as energy leaked out, accompanied by another shriek of pain from Raiga. Using what little energy it had left, Raiga spewed a ray of electrical energy from its jaws, the ray struck Caesar in the face and forcefully pushed him off the larger beast.
Dirt shot into the air as King Caesar collided with the ground. Both beast's groggily rose up as they stared daggers into each other. Shaking the mud off his fur, King Caesar sprinted towards Raiga. The sea monster's eyes widened as a stone fist rammed into its gut, sinking upward into it. Spit and air were forcefully ejected from the saurian's toothy maw.
Bringing his knee up, King Caesar kneed Raiga's jaws shut, the grating sound of teeth smashing against each other echoed all around as the leviathan's mouth was forced shut. Jumping into the air with unbelievable strength, King Caesar stuck out his legs and put them together as his feet collided with the top of Raiga's head. The deep sea monster was forced downward and slammed into the ground face first as the shisa brought his weight upon the reptilian monster.
Mud splattered all around as Raiga groaned, the aching in its head intensified. Using the sea monster's skull as a springboard, smothering the aquatic saurian's face in the cold, wet beach, King Caesar leapt upwards and flipped in midair, landing behind Raiga.
King Caesar grasped Raiga's tail as his man made muscles strengthened. Hoisting the sea monster into the air with all his might, the guardian grunted as he slammed Raiga down to the ground with a loud thud. The electric monster growled in pain before being hoisted back up into the air. Akihiko raised his hands up as he jumped and cheered for his champion.
Raising up his adversary one last time, King Caesar slammed the groggy sea monster to the ground again, the mud molded to Raiga's prone body. King Caesar let out a heavy exhale, his large ears could hear his foes' ragged breath. Despite all the punishment it had endured, Raiga extended its blood red claws and dragged itself along the shore until it was at the water's edge.
King Caesar watched with caution as Raiga was pelted by waves of freezing water, its large frame submerged into the water until only the large fins on its back were visible, those too soon disappeared. Minutes went by, for nearly half an hour the shisa stood guard, but the leviathan never returned.
Both King Caesar and the JSDF combined their might to clean out the remaining devil bonefish that infested the Okinawa coast, lest they wreak havoc on the ecosystem. The royal family watched as King Caesar marched back towards his cliffside home, the rain coming to a stop as rays of sun touched down on the ground. Shaking the water off of his fur, King Caesar stepped inside his resting place and allowed boulders to crumble down and reseal him away.
---
Nearly a week had passed since Raiga attacked Okinawa, the city had already begun reconstruction. Within the Azumi royal castle, Akihiko looked out from the balcony towards the ocean, occasionally glancing towards Mazange Cliff. "Thank you." The young boy whispered as he had done so practically every day since King Caesar defeated Raiga.
A new and modern legend of King Caesar unfolded before his very eyes, and after seeing his mighty guardian in action, his faith in the shisa was cemented. The young prince stared at the natural beauty of his home before he heard a familiar voice call to him.
Akihiko's mother gently strode across the floor as she walked up to her son, standing beside him and gazing out to the shore. "It's about that time, let's get you ready for practice." Looking down to her son, she watched as a smile formed on his face.
"Okay, I'm ready." Akihiko said as he turned to leave the room, walking alongside his mother. Standing before his mother and father, Akihiko grinned as he began to sing the song of King Caesar, his powerful protector.
Winner:
Spoiler:
