Author: Joshua Reynolds | Banner: Stephanie Hughes

A demon has been on the rampage. Moving across the land of the rising sun as if a biblical plague, a beast from Hell slaughtered all. Men, women, and children! Kingdoms fell into anarchy when it was spotted. The skies darkened and the ground spat fire. Soon the entire country was in a state of absolute ruckus. Word began to spread that guardians of Japan, beasts left over from a time before man, were rising up to fight. For a brief moment in time, Japan had hope.

That hope fell when Kumasogami proved to be a real death dealer! Armored titans and stone statues crumbled under his twisted might. Slain in great numbers, Japan was dying quickly. Entire forests were becoming husks of their former greatness, left empty and filled with wandering ghosts.

Those that survived his wrath were left terrified, curling into balls with the rest of their families, afraid to come out even after its passing. These people died not by its lethal hands, but by starvation, afraid to even move after just getting a short glimpse of its towering form.

Soon Kumasogami grew tired of this land. There was nothing left to ruin here, not even the ground for it was ash. His evil mind heard the whispers of some from the coast. With dangerous intentions, the demon desired to spread his wrath to the greatest reaches of the Earth!

When he made it to the coast, the water sizzled and steamed, but he advanced on. The demon lifted his head, sighing as he killed the fish and other sea creatures that called this ocean home. He walked for days, sometimes his head would vanish beneath the waves. On the fourth night, after devastating a series of islands and their inhabitants, Kumasogami had come across a new land.

That land was Okinawa.

Inland, the royal Azumi family wasn’t deaf or dumb. They had sentries all over the area, on Japan and off the coast, that reported the demon to them. Now its black form was approaching their island paradise! Letting out a hellish snarl when he saw the ant-like forms of people gathering on the shores, the demon thought this would be just another day of reckless slaughtering.

As Kumasogami approached, he paid little attention to a mountain sticking out of the sea. His burning eyes looked down and the demon was surprised to see that the humans weren’t intimidated, let alone moving. As he got closer, his feet touching the sand, it became obvious they weren’t men, but women! Hundreds of young virgin girls, all selected by the Azumi’s royal priests.

They were on their knees, fully aware of the death approaching them. But they laughed at death. They were prepared, for as Kumasogami approached, a beautiful song escaped their lips. In unison, the song began to grow in pitch, reaching into the very depths of Kumasogami’s dark soul.

He was filled with rage!

He let out a roar and as his trumpeting noise echoed throughout the Azumi kingdom, a beam of crimson light launched from one of the pointed towers. Whizzing past the beast’s head, it struck the mountain in the sea. Kumasogami spun his head around quickly, catching just the image of the beam exploding on the mountain and sending a wall of fire and rock crashing into the churning sea.

The beast let out a chuckle and lifted its huge foot, dropping it on several of the kneeling priestesses, but the others continued to sing. He laughed again, ignoring the song as another crimson beam from a statue in the distance fired into the smoky cloud.

This time something happened.

If Kumasogami was still facing the mountain, he could have seen two red orbs flash with life. Then came the sound. The sound of an enraged God! The mighty king of Okinawa, his call rang loudly through Kumasogami’s head! The titan of terror, for a brief second, paused as a feeling of fear ran down his rocky spine.

The roar came again and Kumasogami turned around, letting out his own horrible noise. What his eyes saw was a humanoid behemoth. Covered in square, reddish-brown plates and golden fur, the gigantic King Caesar pushed away the rocks in front of him. On his head, his floppy ears pointed up as his eyes blinked and he breathed in with a snarl.

The priestesses were starting to stand, eyeing their awesome savior. They didn’t run, cry, or shout. They had already accepted their fate. If they survived, it would be because their guardian desired it.

Kumasogami’s right hand fell to his side, his fingers and arm extending and twisting into a large blade. King Caesar’s eyes fell on the weapon and soon the gigantic monster was alive with rage. The water parted and splashed as the furry kaiju charged, his head lowered and arms crossed over his face.

Kumasogami braced his legs, bending his knees. King Caesar struck and the two fell backward, crushing more of the girls. The guardian lifted his three-fingered hands and clenched them into fists as he began to pummel the dark one’s skull.

The demon snarled and lashed out with his blade, swiping it across King Caesar’s chest and making a loud clanging sound come forth followed by a spray of sparks. After several moments of this, the two trading blows, Kumasogami boomed a mighty roar, changing his other hand into the same type of blade.

Taken by surprise as the sword cut into his neck, King Caesar fell to the side, a stream of dark fluids tainting his golden coat. Kumasogami sat up, both of his hands shifting again. One hand turned into a bow and the other’s fingers began into extended arrows of nightmarish design.

Just as King Caesar recovered and roared, his ears pointing up again, Kumasogami touched the arrows to the bow and they fired! The guardian lifted his hands to his face, protecting his eyes as the three arrows stabbed into his fur and plates before exploding. A wave of fire and smoke spread forth, catching parts of his coat aflame.

Still sitting down, Kumasogami’s arrows began to regenerate and he again attached them to his bow and readied to fire. Just as the three arrows fired, King Caesar fell to the Earth, ducking as they flew and fell into the blue sea.

Kumasogami moved his hand away from the bow and again allowed his fingers to reform and stretch out. By this time, King Caesar pushed himself off the beach and began to charge. Mere seconds before the fingers fully extended into arrows, the guardian leaped at the sitting demon, dropping both of his feet against its skull in a low dropkick!

The demon snarled in hatred as his back and skull bounced off the beach. King Caesar rolled to the side, barely dodging as the demon tried to thrust his arrows into his side. The two quickly sat up and climbed to their feet, each roaring and snarling at one another.

His leg twitching in anticipation, King Caesar’s ears raised as he roared when Kumasogami connected his arrows again. The deity ducked down, falling to his knees but lifting his arms. With lightning fast reflexes he snatched two of the arrows out of the sky, letting the third strike one of the castle towers behind him and sending a ball of fire spiraling into the sky.

Kumasogami’s strange eyes narrowed as King Caesar stood back up, still holding the arrows. With a great roar, the deity thrust his body forward and launched the arrows back! The demon’s body was rocked by two explosions as his own arrows detonated on his shoulders! Chunks of rocky armor and burning lava fell to the sands as he stumbled back.

Not looking to pass this opportunity up, King Caesar trucked forward, clouds of sand rising up with each step. The deity smashed into Kumasogami’s chest again and he pushed forward. The two snarled and roared. The Azumi’s royal defender ignored the pain as the demon’s hands again spawned blades, slicing into his plated and furry body.

Soon King Caesar pushed Kumasogami back into the sea. It instantly began to hiss and steam at the touch of his heated body. Coming into contact with the demon for this long, King Caesar’s fur began to smoke and ignite in some areas until finally both fell into the sea with a mighty splash.

All of Okinawa held its breath as the two stood waist-deep in the sizzling water. Kumasogami was furious and lashed out with his blades as if they were scissors. King Caesar jumped back and roared as the blades opened up again. Just as they did, the deity jumped into the air, his entire form exiting the water.

His body twisted around and he spun, extending his leg. Taken by surprise, Kumasogami was helpless as King Caesar’s deadly kick smacked into the side of his skull! On impact, the demon’s jaw shattered, sending a gush of burning lava into the water. As King Caesar splashed back into the water, Kumasogami stumbled back.

The guardian again pushed forward, jumping forward and pouncing on the fiery devil. His weight pushing Kumasogami down, soon only King Caesar’s head and shoulders were visible above the water as he held Kumasogami’s body under the water.

Bubbles instantly began to rise and the water became even more steam! A red glow came from underneath the water and the deity’s eyes winced as every nerve in his body was boiled by the heat being generated. Steam began to rise and the bubbles began to come faster and faster…

For over a minute King Caesar withheld it, roaring and snarling as his plates began to break and fall off. His fur began to fall off too! The mighty guardian was actually being boiled alive!

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. The pain still racked his body, but the bubbles began to slowly stop and the water began to cool. When King Caesar pulled his arms up, they were horribly scalded and reddened. But victory was his! In the ocean, the lifeless corpse of Kumasogami lay, slain by the Azumi royal defender.

On the beach, the surviving priestesses bowed as others joined them. The sun was setting behind him and, with his body cut and boiled, King Caesar lifted his head and spread his arms. He roared his victory not just to his people, but to the entire world!

Winner: King Caesar (Universal)