Ruthless Action
"Lord Sakra, there is no sign of the intruders," the task force leader said through the magic circle comm link.
Indra asked, "Did they leave anything behind other than footprints?"
"No sir," the commander replied.
Indra was perplexed by the break-in situation in the Swamplands. A few hours ago, alarms went off at the nearest troop base signaling that one of the barrier sections surrounding the Swamplands had overloaded and failed temporarily. An investigation unit was sent to assess the problem, and in doing so they found footprints on the other side of the barrier. An alert was immediately sent to Indra saying that an army task force team went into the Swamplands to track down the intruders.
"Keep searching for clues," Indra ordered. "Contact me again if you find anything else."
"Yes sir," the commando answered.
The magic circle next to Indra's ear disappeared as he scratched his head in confusion. Who in the world would break into the Swamplands? And for what? There's nothing valuable there that he could think of that would be worthwhile to take or gather. Indra also figured that no one would go there for religious reasons either. Lord Sakra then thought of the Keetak that Brahma discovered years ago and laughed. Although he knows next to nothing about the creatures, Indra still understands that they are deadly parasites that supposedly consume everything they deem as food-worthy. Maybe the intruders met an unfortunate fate by becoming new hosts for those heat suckers.
Third Heaven, Christianity's Heaven
Darth Bane looked around the vast plains of the Third Heaven, one of seven regions of Heaven. It is the home of the souls of the dead who have been taken to Heaven, evident by the fact that Bane, Cao Cao, Georg, Leonardo and Jeanne could see tens of thousands of floating orbs all over the place. These orbs are about the size of a fist and have a golden glow, each one containing the dormant soul of a deceased human from Earth. Bane noticed that there may be millions or more of these strange spheres of light.
"Wow, that's a lot of souls," Georg said to himself.
Cao Cao was able to sneak them into Heaven by going to Purgatory in the Underworld, which is connected to the Third Heaven. The Holy Spear user continued to stare at the numerous lights floating around like balloons.
"So Lord Bane, what's our next task?" asked Cao Cao. "Sabotage? Abduction? Assassination?"
"Neither," the Keetak covered man replied.
"Theft?" Leonardo guessed. "Cao Cao said that you are trying to steal power sources for some portal experiment."
Bane shook his head to that answer. "You will watch me turn this realm to ash."
They were all stunned for a matter of moments.
"You want to destroy Heaven?" asked Jeanne. "Why?"
Bane looked out into the distance. "Because it will help me achieve my goal faster. Rather than venturing out to track down all the various god-class weapons and artifacts, I will have them relocated to one place; they will come to me instead. This will save Zannah and I a lot more time and effort. Heaven's destruction will persuade the mythologies to declare war on me, and I will lure them to a single location of my choice where I can slay them and take their gears."
Bane continued, "Also, the angels need to die. They are flawed like the Jedi Order, and in some cases they are worse than the Jedi Knights and Masters. I will put an end to them and their ridiculous Sacred Gear system."
After a moment, Georg replied, "But if you destroy the Sacred Gear system along with Heaven, then no other humans will be born with Sacred Gears in the future!"
Georg was right, the Seventh Heaven is home to the Sacred Gear system and was the God of the Bible's residence when he was alive.
Cao Cao pondered, then stated, "Let Heaven burn."
"Cao Cao!" Georg shouted in shock. "What about our ultimate goal? We can't achieve it if Heaven is destroyed, it could take decades!"
Another reason why Bane brought them here, other than for transportation purposes, is to test their loyalty to him. What better way is there than testing them over the Sacred Gear system's fate? Bane doesn't need them on his side that badly, but it wouldn't hurt to have some loyal subordinates that will carry out his will.
"Georg, we have already achieved our goal," Cao Cao replied calmly. "Remember the first day when you became part of the Hero Faction? I said to you that we will fight all of the supernatural beings until we reach our peak performance where we cannot progress any further. I wanted to test humanity's capabilities against the mythologies, not just ours, but humanity's. All of our actions were done in representation of our fellow humans on Earth."
Cao Cao looked at Bane. "But Lord Bane achieved that goal for us! He defeated Great Red and showed the world that a human and his apprentice are the most powerful beings ever. There's no need to continue this goal; Bane showed us and everyone else the power of humanity."
Cao Cao paused and laid the True Longinus across his open palms. "I never truly wanted this spear, I don't even know why it was given to me. I can live with or without the Sacred Gear system, it means nothing to me. Even if there's no one else like Bane in the future, or even if there will be no more human Sacred Gear users, the mythologies will never look at humans the same again. We've already won."
There was a long pause as Cao Cao's friends thought about his words.
"I think Cao Cao is right," Leonardo expressed. "All I wanted was to send a message to the mythologies showing that humans are stronger than they think. Bane has done that and more!"
Jeanne said, "I just wanted the mythologies to stop looking down at us like we are tools to be taken advantage of. With the rise of Bane and Zannah, the gods would think twice before treating every human like shit. I'm happy enough with that as it is, whether the Sacred Gear system exists or not."
Georg considered their opinions and thought hard. "Lord Bane, I still don't fully understand why you killed all the Sith and what made you see things that way, but I'm sure you had your reasons. You are the God of Power after all. Whatever power you used to destroy the Sith and make it stronger, you can use that again here. I realized that it may be time for the Sacred Gear system to end and to start something new."
Darth Bane nodded in acknowledgement to their collective decision. "I will gather my power now. My attack will not strike us, but it may still be wise for you all to protect yourselves."
Bane began drawing on the power of the dark side to create an unstoppable concentration of power. It had been decades since he had last used the Force Storm power with the top Sith Lords of Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness, the one that was on its way to ravage the entire surface of Ruusan. At that time, Bane would have destroyed all the Jedi if Kaan didn't break the link connecting Bane with the other lords. But after years of astronomical progress in Force power and knowledge, Bane no longer needed the other Sith Lords to create the storm that was destined to cook the whole surface of the planet of Ruusan in a firestorm. Ancient Sith Lords of the past developed powers to destroy cities, planets, and even stars, and Bane had the strength to use them all. Heaven in its entirety is about the size of a continent, easily within Bane's destructive capacity.
The wind grew strong as the clouds darkened over their heads. Whatever power Bane was about to unleash, Cao Cao thought, it was going to be something that no one was ever seen before...something that no one could imagine or dare to use. He and his Hero Faction friends huddled together and enveloped themselves inside a bubble of magic circles in case if they get struck by the storm's energy.
Random lightning strikes appeared in the clouds with others striking down to the ground, then Bane rose his arms above his head as the dark side filled every part of himself. The Dark Lord lifted into the air as half a dozen bolts of lightning from the clouds were absorbed into his body, acting as continuous links of electric charge that flowed around Bane's body. Hovering five meters in the air, Bane lowered his arms out to his sides as he unleashed the storm's energy outward in all directions. Hundreds of lightning bolts struck at the ground as the firestorm raced out to consume all the regions of Heaven. There was nothing in Bane's world but fire and death.
Secret Khaos Brigade base, Underworld
Zannah walked with Alexa towards the hidden Khaos Brigade base built in the side of a mountain, which was in the forests of some mountain chain. Zannah used Alexa as a negotiator to contact the higher-ups of the Khaos Brigade to discuss a huge business deal. Darth Zannah was carrying out part two of her and Bane's final plan.
"Just to be clear," said Alexa, "you said that you want to buy the Khaos Brigade?"
"That's right," Zannah confirmed.
"You and Bane have too much money," Alexa shook her head.
Zannah was here to purchase the Khaos Brigade, essentially taking it away from Ophis, their current leader. She and Bane are going to use the Khaos Brigade as their own personal army to fend off the armies of the mythologies during their planned "global skirmish". They won't have the Khaos Brigade fighting directly against the mythological forces, for their numbers are far too large to attack head on. Instead, the Sith Lords will use them for ambushes, raids, and hit-and-run attacks that will distract and disorient the much larger opposing army.
Zannah and Alexa walked past two Brigade guards as they entered the elevator that will take them to the headquarters further underground.
"Before coming here, I took another trip to Earth to deal with some more vampires. But I didn't kill any this time," Zannah mentioned.
"What did you do?" Alexa asked.
"I bought the Carmilla Faction," Zannah replied.
The Sith lady smiled as Alexa's mouth hung open in surprise. She and Bane are also going to use the vampire Carmilla Faction in the same manner as the Khaos Brigade, but the vampires will be used more as scouts and assassins. The Sith Lords could buy or influence other factions to their cause, but that would prove to be unnecessary. They plan on having a very quick war.
The elevator continued descending until they reached the sublevel where the base headquarters is located. Zannah and Alexa stepped out and followed the signs leading towards the HQ. They turned a few corners around stone walls and hallways until they reached the HQ room where four people were sitting at a large central table that can seat twenty guests. Three of the Khaos Brigade members were devils while the other one was a fallen angel.
The fallen angel noticed Zannah and Alexa at the door frame. "Darth Zannah, you and your guest have arrived at last! Please, take a seat."
They both took a seat at the left side of the rectangular table. The fallen angel at the front end of the table was a black man of French origin, while the three devils were two asian men and a middle-eastern woman.
The fallen angel said in a strong French accent, "My name is Marquis Deschanel, I'm the commanding officer of this base and General of the Brigade Army. These are my colleagues: Colonel Senichi, Captain Osamu and Commander el-Salah."
"General Deschanel," said Zannah, "I have a big proposition for you and your fellow officers."
Gremory Mansion, Underworld
Darth Bane emerged from a magic circle generated by Cao Cao, stepping in the forest that surrounds the Gremory Mansion. Some people call it the Gremory Castle, but it is most often referred to as a mansion due to its shape and architecture. The Gremory estate is a perfect example of the average clan castle, not too simple and defenseless, while not overly grand like the Bael Castle and certainly not a fortress like Bane's home.
Bane decided to come here to let Sirzechs Lucifer know that Heaven is destroyed. Having just annihilated the realm minutes ago, no one from the other mythologies have found out about Heaven's destruction...not yet. Bane had no clue if Sirzechs is in the mansion currently, but if he's not, Bane can still make a kind visit to Lucifer's family and tell them about the stellar news.
Bane chose to come to this place when he could have visited any of the other three Satans, or even just contact them from his home. The reason being is that informants notified Bane earlier that week about someone having theorized and possibly created a sealing spell capable of sealing Bane or Zannah. That person is Rossweisse from Rias' peerage. Bane sent a spy to observe the peerage from afar, who noted that they often come to this estate. Eliminating her while letting the Gremory clan know about Heaven is all too convenient. Rossweisse is by no means any threat to Bane under normal circumstances, but he wasn't taking any chances of having this nuisance turn into a deadly hitwoman when he's distracted or meditating, especially after the gods' surprise attempt to assassinate Bane in his own estate.
Bane and his human allies walked towards the mansion while staying hidden in the trees. They kept a close eye on the estate for three hundred meters, taking note of the guards at the front porch and along the perimeter. Bane stopped where the treeline turned in another direction.
"Stay here while I sneak into the mansion. I want to find Sirzechs and Rossweisse myself," Bane said to his associates behind him.
"Alright," Cao Cao replied, "we'll keep an eye on the guards from here."
[...]
"Open wide Issei," said Asia. "Say aah."
"Aah…" Issei sounded as he ate a piece of food from Asia's fork.
Issei and his friends were just finishing up dinner inside the mansion's dining hall.
"My turn!" Akeno shouted. "Say ahh Issei."
"No, he has to try my food first," said Xenovia.
Issei put up his hands. "Settle down guys, I'm already stuffed."
Kiba laughed at the sight of the girls fighting over the right to feed Issei, while Rias remained silent with her mouth twisted in jealousy.
"Hey Rossweisse, why don't you try feeding Issei?" Irina suggested.
"Huh?" Rossweisse was flabbergasted.
"Don't let her do that!" exclaimed Koneko. "She'll just feed him alcohol."
"I would not!" Rossweisse replied with embarrassment.
"Then what were you doing at the Rating Game in Agreas a while back?" Xenovia asked.
Rossweisse responded, "I was at the bar…"
"Ha! See?" Koneko voiced.
Irina gave a coy smile. "I bet she was trying to look for a boyfriend!"
Rossweisse's face went red as she became flustered.
"Come on guys, stop bullying her," Rias suggested.
"We were just teasing," Xenovia assured.
At the far end of the dining hall, a butler had just walked out the door with some kitchen supplies in his arms. All of a sudden, he fell to the ground, dropping the items in his arms. This created a loud crashing sound as things broke and bounced on the floor.
"Are you alright?" Gasper called out to the motionless servant in the distance.
A moment later, a beast of a man walked into the hall past the servant's body. The man had a large frame, and his torso was covered with alien-looking organisms. He wore a dark cape with a sinister high collar, and his lower body was outfitted in black. His strange helmet concealed a lot of his facial identity, but Rias and her peerage quickly figured out who this monster of a man was.
"Bane…" Kiba gasped.
Darth Bane looked at the peerage members. "Which one of you is Rossweisse?"
He already knew which one was his target, but Bane wanted to see if Rossweisse had the guts to admit herself before him. Rias, Issei and the others were frozen in astonishment, not knowing what to do.
"Me," Rossweisse stood up with a serious look on her face.
Bane narrowed his eyes, acknowledging her honesty. He then held out his left hand, choking Rossweisse with the Force and lifting her off the ground.
"Let her go!" Rias shouted.
"She devised a plan to lock me away," Bane said to Rias. "Isn't that right, Rossweisse?"
Issei had his Boosted Gear gauntlet activated and many others had their weapons drawn.
"Put her down, Bane," Issei ordered in anger.
Bane continued to strangle Rossweisse. Kiba panicked and charged towards Bane with his demon sword wielded with both hands. He swung his sword in a diagonal strike, which Bane blocked by catching it on his Keetak covered forearm. The Sith Lord then swung out his arm, smacking the sword out of Kiba's hands and hitting the young man in the side of the head. Kiba skidded across the floor and laid there stunned.
"Kiba!" Issei shouted.
"Lord Bane...please stop…" Rossweisse muttered. "You're right...I created a plan to...seal you. But I promise to...not do that to you...I swear! I'll do...anything...you want. So…..let me go…..please…"
"You heard her," Issei slowly marched forward. "Put. Her. Down."
"Alright," Bane replied, "I will."
Bane agreed to "put her down". He yanked Rossweisse toward him with the Force and activated his lightsaber. She flew across the room until the lightsaber impaled her, burning directly through her heart and exiting her back. Bane pulled out his lightsaber and let her dead body drop to the floor.
"NOOOOO!" Issei screeched his head off.
Overcome by rage and distress, Issei charged wildly towards Bane while his Balance Breaker armor formed around him. Issei was in the motion of delivering a powerful punch with his right arm despite the armor not fully covering him yet. Bane quickly sliced off Issei's unprotected right arm just below the elbow, then slashed his lightsaber across Issei's armored legs just above the knees. By the time Bane incapacitated Issei's legs, the Balance Breaker armor had fully formed around his body...but Issei jumped the gun too early. Issei was now on his knees in agony from his amputated arm and disabled legs, overwhelmed by physical pain and emotional distress.
Bane placed his left hand on Issei's red chestplate, gathering the Force then dispersing it into the dragon armor. Issei was launched backwards as his body armor shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering everywhere. Issei smashed through the dining table and some chairs before coming to a halt on the floor, barely conscious. Rias ran over to her wounded lover, so did Asia and Akeno.
The set of doors at the side of the room opposing Bane's entrance point swung open, then entered three people.
"What the hell is going on here?" Azazel shouted.
Azazel, Sirzechs and Venelana were shocked at the mess the dining hall was in. Then they saw Rossweisse's corpse, Issei's arm and Issei himself laying down at different parts of the room. Then they looked at Bane in horror.
"DAMN YOU!" Sirzechs screamed.
The Satan fired a stream of his Power of Destruction from each hand towards the intruder. Bane flaunted his invincibility by letting both magic streams wash across his armored chest and stomach. After a matter of seconds, Sirzechs stopped his magic attack, noticing that it wasn't doing any damage to Bane. The Dark Lord then put his left hand forward, launching the three adults backward with a Force push. Sirzechs smashed through the set of doors while Venelana and Azazel slammed into the wall, denting and cracking it. Xenovia and Kiba felt a strong urge to charge Bane, but they instinctively realized that charging him would do no good.
The three adults got back up on their feet after being briefly dazed.
"Why are you here, Bane?" Venelana yelled. "Why did you attack my family?"
"Rossweisse devised a plan to seal me," Bane replied. "I had to eliminate her."
"You son of a bitch! You think you can just go around and kill whoever you want, whenever you want?" said Azazel. "Plus, you stole my prototype device!"
"I didn't steal it. You sold it to me," Bane corrected.
Azazel pointed a finger at Bane. "You tricked me! I would never have sold that thing to anyone."
Bane chuckled in response.
"I also came here to give you marvelous news," Bane added.
Azazel rose an eyebrow. "News about what?"
Bane answered, "I suppose you haven't checked on Heaven recently?"
Sirzechs said in a low voice, "What did you do…"
Bane clenched his hand into a fist. "I destroyed it! Everything, even the Sacred Gear system, is razed to the ground from my storm of dark side energy."
Irina began to bawl. "No...no…"
Asia cried as well.
"You monster!" Venelana shouted.
"That's it," Sirzechs snapped, "I've had enough of you!"
The Satan paced the floor. "First was the Rating Game, then Great Red, then the god strike team, now Heaven and my family! You may have been able to justify your actions before, but now you've proven yourself to be a genocidal psychopath. You will face justice for this!"
"You will need an army to bring me to justice," Bane taunted.
"If war is what you want," said Sirzechs, "then war is what you'll get."
Bane turned around and walked away. "I recommend you gather the other mythologies if you wish to defeat me."
Sith Sanctum, Underworld
Bane walked through the front doors of his estate with Cao Cao, Georg, Jeanne and Leonardo close behind him. Not too far away in the front lounge, Zannah was sitting down with Alexa, General Deschanel, a Carmilla Faction representative, and the Vali Team. Bane and his escorts walked forward to join the others.
"Vali," said Cao Cao, "I'm surprised to see that you and your team are part of this as well."
Vali shrugged. "When I found out that this war thing was going on, I couldn't turn down the offer to battle for the most powerful people in the world. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
That makes sense, Cao Cao thought. Vali is probably an even greater battle maniac than himself.
Zannah looked over at Bane. "We have our armies on standby, ready to mobilize at our command."
"Perfect," Bane smiled. "Now all we have to do is wait."
